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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26663461">Love Letters in the Sand</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/insominia/pseuds/insominia'>insominia</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fallout: New Vegas</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Boone's a Daddy, Co-Parenting, Dating, Declarations Of Love, Didn't Know They Were Dating, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, Injury Recovery, Kid Fic, Kissing, LITERALLY, Letters, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, One Night Stands, Post-Canon, References to Canon, Resolved Sexual Tension, Sexual Tension</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 11:47:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>26,073</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26663461</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/insominia/pseuds/insominia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Five years ago Boone was right there with Courier Six when she brought independence to the Strip and sent the Legion packing. <br/>Five years ago Boone and Courier Six spent one glorious night in each other's arms before he rejoined his old unit for another tour with the NCR. </p><p>Now Boone is back having never really forgotten that one night. Six it seems hasn't been allowed to forget it either when Boone discovers that he left her with more than a kiss and a worn beret all those years ago. <br/>Boone hadn't ever expected to become a father, not after what happened last time but now that he is, he has no intention of doing anything else.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Craig Boone/Female Courier</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>60</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So this has been several drafted chapters across four notebooks for about three years now until <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaggieMaybe160/pseuds/MaggieMaybe160">MaggieMaybe160</a> the greatest friend, beta, cheerleader and sunshine to be found actually got me to type it up and finish it. And now, naturally, it is so much more because of it so thank you &lt;3 'Thanks' always seems insufficient but it's all I have :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The monorail was full to bursting and seemed to be going slower because of it. Boone had managed to snag himself a seat, his pack tucked uncomfortably behind his legs but it was the only place for it. He remembered a time when the Legion had tried to blow up this very carriage. If they tried it now they’d probably wipe out half the NCR in the process. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looked up and down the carriage but it was clear nobody else was thinking that. Why would they? The Legion was a bad memory and a distant one at that. Instead, everyone was chatting with their neighbour excitedly. Most were on leave, some had been discharged as Boone had the day before. All were heading to the Strip after the promise of a good time. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nobody spoke to Boone. He wore the armour of his unit, the same as the rest of them but even with several troopers pressed against him, he still held himself apart from them. He may have been discharged but he’d never stop being a sniper and he’d never been one for friendship. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was surprised when the trooper that was pressed too close for comfort against his legs offered him a smouldering cigarette almost apologetically. He gave her a small smile which passed for a ‘thank you’ as he took it, inhaling deeply. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“First time on the Strip?” she asked. He shook his head. “It’s mine,” she said as though the gleam in her eye hadn’t already given that away. “So, what’re you going to do there? Gamble? Party? I hear you First Recon guys can really throw down.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone smirked and handed the cigarette back to her, ignoring the obvious invitation in her voice. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The train slowed before it stopped completely. The doors slid open and everyone started filing out. The trooper didn’t move, still looking at Boone expectantly. When the carriage thinned enough for him to stand, he slung his pack over his shoulder. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m going to look up an old friend,” he said and stepped onto the platform. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Strip hadn’t changed in the years since Boone had left it. Music drifted from the casinos, the strippers outside Gomorrah beckoned for Boone to follow them in, and the securitrons kept order. Only the Lucky 38 was different. It still towered over the strip but the doors were open and people were moving in and out as freely as they did any of the other establishments. It was as good a place to start as any.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He stepped through the door and even though he’d expected the change, to see the place bustling was still a surprise. Back in the day, he’d always been a little creeped out crossing the empty casino floor only to use the elevator in the equally empty resort. There was no chance of that now. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The tables were full, the bar was busy, and there wasn’t a securitron in sight. The musty smell that had existed in the place after years of disuse was gone, though the smell of liquor, smoke, and some of the lesser washed patrons wasn’t much better in Boone’s opinion. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He stepped up to the bar and slid onto a stool waiting for the bartender to notice him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What can I get you?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For a moment Boone hesitated, the words caught on his lips. What if she wasn’t here? What if she wasn’t around these parts anymore? He paused. Took a breath. This was his first stop. He had others. Gannon might still be up in Freeside. Raul might be knocking about the old shack. Veronica was probably still in the bunker. He had options. This was just the start. There really was no reason for his gut to feel like everything he’d eaten that day was about to find its way back up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“ ‘m looking for Courier Six.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The guy didn’t look surprised. In fact, his expression didn’t change at all. He waited for Boone to continue but he really didn’t have anything else to say. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone tried not to roll his eyes even though the guy probably couldn’t see them through the shades. “You know where I can find her?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure, I mean...this is her casino,” the guy said with a sweeping gesture to the floor. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone remembered how to breathe and took a chance. “She still in the presidential suite?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The guy quirked an eyebrow as though surprised he’d know that which could only have been a good thing. “Uh...yeah. She is but-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You still need the key to get there in the elevator?” Boone asked, impatient now that he knew he was in the right place. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, but, hey- wait-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But Boone had already turned, his pack slung once more onto his shoulder, slipping past the tourists into the elevator. There were only a handful of visitors in there, heading up to the cocktail lounge which Boone saw was finally living up to its name. It was a lot less crowded than the casino downstairs but thankfully nobody stepped into the elevator and once he was alone, Boone fished for the key he’d kept in his pocket for five years. The slot for it was as well used as it ever had been which Boone took as a good sign and he tried to calm himself down.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was ridiculous, he knew. He’d walked into the Fort with nothing more than his rifle and Six by his side and come out alive. He’d seen off the Legion at Hoover Dam. He’d spent the last five years trying to secure territory for the NCR. He could surely look up an old friend without losing his mind. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But then he </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> sent her that letter…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What if she didn’t agree?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What if she </span>
  <em>
    <span>did?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The doors slid open and he found himself facing the familiar sight of the suite’s master bedroom. It all looked much the same. The bed wasn’t made, clothes lay crumpled on the floor (Six always had been a messy housemate) and her armour, her terrible, why-did-she-even-bother leather armour hung visibly over a wardrobe. Relief flooded through him and he smiled. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The radio was playing in the kitchen and he could hear Six humming along to it under her breath. For a moment, Boone had to steady himself on the door. She was here. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>She was here</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That had been a lot easier than he’d expected but he couldn’t find it in him to be surprised. He was more relieved than anything else. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He stepped out of the elevator at last and steadied himself. If there was a mirror, Boone would have checked himself over but there wasn’t so he just took a breath and stepped into the kitchen. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>All hell broke loose.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rex was at his feet in an instant, barking and jumping up every bit as enthusiastic about Boone as he had been five years ago. Six had been sitting at the table but at the sight of him rose so quickly her plate fell to the floor and shattered. He’d never seen her look like that. As though all her nightmares had come true at once and they’d seen some pretty nightmarish things in their time. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He barely saw it now. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His body didn’t feel like his own. His stomach churned and time stood still. His eyes locked on the child sitting beside her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A little boy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A little boy with a face Boone hadn’t seen for about thirty years since he’d first spied himself in a nearby stream. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It was Six who came to her senses first. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Down boy,” she called quietly and Rex immediately stopped licking Boone’s fingers and went to her side. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She considered Boone for a moment. Despite his shock, he still shrank under that look. He’d seen it before, usually before she considered the best place to set up so she could start shooting things. She managed to tear her eyes from him though it looked like it took her some effort. Kneeling beside the oblivious boy, she smiled at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sweetie, can you finish your lunch in your room? Mommy needs to talk to her friend.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Without a word, the boy picked up his plate and left though his eyes never left Boone’s, looking up at him with unabashed curiosity. Boone let him leave and even shifted so he could watch him go into the room that had once been Boone’s own. The hallway had surely never seemed so long.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>One night.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They’d spent one night together and it had been more alcohol and desperation given that Boone had been shipping out the following day than anything else. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That night had haunted Boone during his tour and it didn’t look like she’d been allowed to forget it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even with the radio playing behind them, it seemed like an oppressive silence hung over them. The sound of shards clinking together as Six started sweeping the remains of her dinner up caught Boone’s attention and he turned back to her. She kept her eyes on the floor and dumped the shards into the bin. She even took the time to wash her hands before she turned back to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So...you’re the last person I ever expected to see.” She couldn’t quite meet his eye, a fact which wasn’t lost on him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone could only stare back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He needed to lie down. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Still with the beret, huh?” she said with an attempt at a smile but she couldn’t manage it. “What are you doing here, Boone?” she sighed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The pack on his back felt heavier than it had in the elevator. Just a few minutes ago he’d been so happy that he’d found her and now… Now the world had shifted under his feet and the only thing he could feel was the pit in his stomach. Six folded her arms and waited for his answer. She’d wait all day for it if she had to. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It took him a while to find his voice. “I came to find you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She lifted her arms in a gesture that screamed ‘here I am’. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But Boone’s eyes had dropped to the empty space at the table where the boy had been sitting just a few moments before. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Looks just like you, huh?” she said softly, following the path of his gaze. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He slipped his shades off just so he could rub at his eyes for a moment. It wouldn’t help but the movement seemed like the kind of thing he should do. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Jesus Christ,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> he muttered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look, Boone...why are you here? I mean...it’s been five years. Did you get curious? Figure you were in the area so hey why not look us up? It’s not like you have to do anything-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Christ, Six!</span>
  </em>
  <span> You could have at least told me!” Boone shouted. He’d never raised his voice around her before, let alone shout. The closest he’d ever gotten were the swift calls when they were needed on the battlefield. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The yell resonated around them but the look of shock on Six’s face was short-lived. They had travelled for a long time together and in such close quarters he thought he had seen almost every look in her repertoire but the one she fixed him with now - one of pure ice - he had never witnessed. When she spoke her voice was dangerously low. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wrote to you, okay? I wrote to you even before I knew I was pregnant. I wrote to-” she broke off and took a deep breath as though she were afraid her words might physically hurt him. “I wrote to you.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone felt numb. He’d not received a single letter. Not from her or from anyone. Something which had hurt, kid or no kid. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait…” Six said suddenly as the thought struck her. “You...you think I’d keep this from you? After everything we did? Knowing what you went through, you think I wouldn’t tell you that I was carrying your son?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Six-” he started but he wasn’t sure what he could say. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The ice in her eyes was gone. Now they burned with the same fire that had seen the Legion and the NCR off the dam. He took a step back, he couldn’t help it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Get out,” she snapped. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Out!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone had very little recollection of how he came to end up back on the Strip, looking up at the ‘38 from the outside. Around him the gamblers, hookers and tourists carried on as though the world hadn’t been completely and irrevocably changed. As though nothing had happened at all. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He stood there for a long time. A </span>
  <em>
    <span>long</span>
  </em>
  <span> time. And yet, even as the sun started to set and the Strip turned itself over to the bright lights that could be seen across the Mojave, Boone still wasn’t entirely sure what had just happened. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It seemed almost inevitable that Boone found himself parked at the Wrangler. He could have stayed at any one of the places on the Strip. Not that he’d particularly wanted to stay at any of them. He was hardly in the mood for a good time. He’d thought about stopping at Vault 22 but for the moment he just wanted distance between him and the Strip. Short of going back to McCarren and begging a bed, the Wrangler was the obvious choice. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>James Garrett had greeted him enthusiastically and when Boone asked for a room, had pointed out that the room they’d once held for the Courier and her companions was empty and his for as long as he needed it on the house given that business was doing so well. Garrett had gestured towards that damned robot but before Boone could be invited to assume the position, he’d hopped onto a barstool, slammed down some caps and rasped, ‘whiskey,’ though he’d have killed for something stronger. Too bad Cass’ moonshine had never found its way behind a bar. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Garrett had taken the hint, taken the caps and left the bottle. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone poured out a shot and downed it with surprising force. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>‘I wrote to you-</span>
  </em>
  <span>’</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He hadn’t seen a letter. Not a goddamned one. Something which hadn’t gone unnoticed but then who would have written to him? Aside from Six that was. It wasn’t that he hadn’t gotten along with the others in her ragtag gang of motley followers, but they weren’t exactly </span>
  <em>
    <span>friends</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Certainly not letter writing friendly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At the time, he’d figured Six had just given up on him but even then the idea hadn’t sat right with him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Shot.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His unit had moved around a lot. Even by NCR standards. It had been a long five years; never staying in the same place for more than a few weeks. He wouldn’t put it past the higher-ups to determine it was just too hard to send on their mail, so they’d just keep it in a drawer until it was convenient. Hell, he wouldn’t be surprised if the letters hadn’t made it out of the Mojave. He’d find them all clogging up a cabinet at the outpost. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Shot.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He believed her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Another tour of duty and he’d sooner believe in the unreliability of the service and clerical errors than Six had deceived him. Of course, she would have told him. She’d known about Carla. She’d known about all of it. She would never have kept it from him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Shot.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone had been excited to be a father. Convinced it would be a girl. A beautiful baby girl in the image of his wife. But he’d known it wasn’t going to happen. Deep down, and even then not </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> deep, he’d always known he’d never get to hold his baby. He’d just figured that it would be </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> death that had stopped it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Shot.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And now he was a father. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’d never be able to hold the baby but he could hold the boy. That’s if Six would let him get near enough and after the implication he’d thrown at her, he knew he was going to have to explain himself before she’d even let him step foot in the ‘38 again. But…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was a father. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had a son.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And the only person he wanted to tell was Six. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Shot.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He needed those letters. Not to prove her point, he knew her too well to need that. But he needed them. He needed to read the words Six had chosen to tell him he was going to be a daddy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Had she been scared? Worried? Happy? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He should have been there. What if she’d gone through it alone? If he’d known…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Shot.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Slower this time. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He still had friends in McCarren and another successful tour under his belt. Six’s letters would have inevitably started there and so that’s where Boone would start. There were favours he could call in, ranks he could pull. If nothing else, he could pull the old ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>I killed Caesar of the Legion</span>
  </em>
  <span>’. He’d never had to rely on it before but if it helped him now, damn right he’d bring it up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Shot. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not right now. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In the morning. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>First thing he’d head over to McCarren and start asking questions. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He would find those letters and make things right with Six. Then he’d get to know his son.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>His son.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Shot.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Filled with purpose, Boone figured it would be a good time to head up to his room. Besides, the bottle was almost empty and he hadn’t even changed out of the uniform he’d been wearing to pick up his discharge papers which seemed a lifetime ago now. His pack was still on his back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He stood up and promptly regretted it as the whiskey hit him with the force of an alpha deathclaw. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The following morning, James Garret swore that it was the funniest thing he’d seen in a long time when Boone rose and immediately folded forward, passing out on the bar. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Nobody could ever have accused Sergeant Craig Boone of being overly sociable during his tour. When he’d left the day before, there had hardly been a crowd of friends and well-wishers to shake his hand and make the obligatory promises of catching up when their tour was over. But he was liked well enough. He was a good sniper, a better spotter, and First Recon was already a respected unit. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was let into McCarren without question even though Boone had never learned the name of the trooper on duty. Boone found his way to the First Recon tent but before anyone could even register their surprise that he was back already his eyes found Lieutenant Bitter-Root and he rasped, “I need a favour.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone had never asked anyone in his unit for help before and maybe that was why Bitter-Root didn’t ask any questions. He gestured with his thumb for the two of them to step outside where Boone explained that some letters had gone missing and he needed to get them back. It sounded dumb when he said it out loud and he waited for Bitter-Root to give him the brush off. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At most Boone had expected an insincere </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘I’ll look into it’</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He hadn’t expected the Lieutenant to frown and mutter that this wasn’t the first he’d heard of it and they should check it out. He led them over to the terminal building which was probably the same place Six had brought the letters to. There was a disturbingly high chance that they were still tucked away in a drawer there. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The disinterested trooper on duty stood at attention and looked suitably terrified when two determined-looking First Recon officers strode into the mailroom. Bitter-Root’s voice was almost casual as he asked where he might find former Sergeant Boone’s mail seeing as it hadn’t been delivered. He barely had to threaten the girl with a write-up before she was leafing through the paperwork. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nobody was going to want to be the one who messed up when it came to one of the heroes of Hoover Dam. What had they called the Courier and her crew back in the day? The Last, Best, Hope for Humanity...Champions of Justice… Boone probably had more pull in New Vegas than General Hsu. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We passed all outgoing mail to the Outpost.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone rolled his eyes behind his shades. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Figures. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They stepped outside and Boone sighed. “Thank you, sir.” He winced. “Guess I’m heading to the Outpost.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll save you a trip. C’mon,” Bitter-Root said, starting for the comms room. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He relieved the comms officer and radioed the Outpost himself. If the letters weren’t at stake, Boone might have been embarrassed at a superior officer putting himself to such trouble for a discharged soldier. But if Bitter-Root felt as though he were being taxed then he didn’t show it. That said, he was becoming increasingly irate with whoever he was talking to at the Outpost. Boone could only hear half the conversation but it was clear Bitter-Root wasn’t happy with the responses he was getting. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Fucking pen-pushers,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he grumbled at one point before the argument descended into technicalities, procedures and the technicalities of procedures. At that point, Boone switched off. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was a long time before Bitter-Root slung off the headset. Boone felt it only polite to offer him a cigarette but Bitter-Root shook his head in refusal. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone had, in an embarrassingly accurate picture of NCR inefficiency, called it exactly. All of the outgoing mail from the Strip had made it as far as the Outpost before some bright spark behind a desk realised that tracking the units that moved around with the frequency that First Recon did was </span>
  <em>
    <span>hard</span>
  </em>
  <span>. So the letters had been put in a cabinet with the intention of being passed on just as soon as the unit next passed by. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Which of course had never happened. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone’s face fell. He’d been at the Outpost not one week ago, travelling back to McCarren to end his tour. It would take days to make the journey there and back, days he didn’t particularly want to spend away from the Strip when he should be making up with Six. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bitter-Root must have seen him making the calculations in his head and gave a sigh. “They aren’t sending any men back our way for some time. Not with all the re-enlistments, re-deployments, you know how it is.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone nodded. He did. “Thanks for everything. I appreciate it, sir.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was already turning when Bitter-Root called, “Hey, wait a minute, Sergeant. You’ve been all over the Mojave right? Guy with your kind of reputation must be owed favours all over...you know anyone near Primm?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In the end, it cost Boone three hundred caps and a promise of two night shifts watching for Fiends to have the letters couriered overnight. Calls were made, forms signed and Johnson Nash dispatched a courier to the Outpost to get the letters and every other piece of mail that hadn’t made it to their discharged owners. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bitter-Root had the NCR pay most of the fee. Recompense for keeping fighting soldiers in the dark for five years. The short stop the courier was to make at Novac Boone had to fund himself. But everything would be ready for collection some time the following day. Boone already knew he’d be at the dropbox first thing, waiting. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was almost dusk when Boone took his leave of McCarren and trudged across the desert back to Freeside. He should have been relieved but he was exhausted. He all but walked into Six as she left the Old Mormon Fort. His heart fell when he looked down and saw the boy with her. He made to step towards her but she fixed him with a glare that would have made a deathclaw think twice. He watched them walk away and felt even more wearied for it. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>Hey Boone.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Said I’d write but not sure now what to say. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Uh. (Can’t believe I wrote that). Things here are the same as ever. Went to see Raul a couple of days ago. He’s heading out soon. Arcade is still at the fort. He wanted me to break open the last of Cass’ moonshine but I figure I’ll save that for when you get back. Guess that means you have to come back. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I’ll be here. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Hope you’re having fun chasing the Legion.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Six</span>
  </em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Boone. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Got offered a job the other day - Courier. Can you believe it? Had to fucking laugh. Couldn’t do it. Thought about how the last job led to the battle of Hoover Dam and everything in between. Guess I’m just done with that.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Can’t remember the last time I turned down a job though, but trekking across the Mojave on my own doesn’t seem so fun. Rex misses you too. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Word at McCarren is you’re going out East to pick off the Legate’s strays. Good luck with that.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Stay safe, Boone.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Six</span>
  </em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Boone.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I’ve written this letter a dozen times. Can’t get it right. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Sorry.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Just going to say it.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Hope you’re sitting down.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I’m pregnant. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Just a couple of months. And I know neither of us expected it, I mean...it was just one night, right? Arcade says it only takes once, but I mean...well you know how it is out here with the radiation and all. I’m rambling. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I feel so stupid. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>So uh...what do you wanna do?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I wish you were here. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Six</span>
  </em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Boone.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>It’s been a couple of months now and I still haven’t heard from you. I know you’re probably reeling. I am too. But I really need to know what you’re thinking. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I can’t imagine how hard this must be for you. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I know I’m not Carla, I never could be and I never wanted to take her place. It’s probably a slap in the face to be having a baby with me. I don’t even know if I want it. Well...I mean...I do want it. But..I don’t know. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>There’s a family just the other side of the sharecroppers. They wouldn’t mind a baby so that’s an option. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I miss you. Not just because it’s yours but coz you always had my back. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Sometimes I just want to bitch about how much my back aches but there’s no one here to listen.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Shit. I just realised you probably don’t want to hear about it. You probably don’t want to be reminded of...I’m rambling again.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Goddamn I can’t write for shit.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Six</span>
  </em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Boone.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Trooper told me the letters are having a hard time coming in from where you are. Figured your replies are getting caught up in some NCR bullshit redtape. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Told myself I wouldn’t do this, that I wouldn’t remind you of last time but...it kicked. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Weirdest feeling. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Arcade says once it starts kicking it won’t stop til it’s out. Can’t imagine being kicked from the inside for months. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Still don’t know what I’m doing. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Can’t picture myself as a mother. Never imagined having kids. Don’t suppose you ever pictured it either, not with me anyway. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>What the hell am I doing, Boone?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Six</span>
  </em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Boone.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Seriously I’m the size of a brahmin. Arcade says the weight will come off quickly enough afterwards but still. It’s hard to get around and putting on shoes? Forget about it. Getting motion sick in the elevator and I can’t go out past the gate. My armour doesn’t fit and apparently a pregnant woman carrying a hunting rifle looks distasteful. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>So says Arcade. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>He’s moved back in for a while. He says to save me making the journey to him but really I think he knows I’m going stir crazy. Not long left now. At this rate, this baby’s going to be signing up for its own damn tour by the time your replies get here. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Kill some legionaries for me, huh?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Six</span>
  </em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Boone.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>It’s a boy.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Six</span>
  </em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Boone.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Sorry it’s been so long. Had to figure stuff out. That and...you know...the baby. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I never did get your replies assuming you ever sent one. I guess I understand if you didn’t - I never could compete with Carla and it was just one night. I never did find out what you wanted me to do so I hope what I’m about to say won’t mess you up too bad.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I’m keeping him.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>When Arcade put him in my arms for the first time I just...I couldn’t let him go. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>You know how they say there’s that ‘rush of love’ bullshit and you know you’ll love the baby forever? Well it was nothing like that. It’s fucking hard but holding him there was this deep...thing. I can’t explain it but it’s fierce and I’d protect him with my life if I had to so I couldn’t give him up. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I’m still at the ‘38 though I’m thinking of selling the place, or at least the casino. Can’t very well go trekking across the desert with a baby, can I? </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I put a picture of him in here. He looks just like you. Hope that doesn’t bother you too much. He’s pretty great. Sleeps well, hardly fusses. Quiet. Like us, I guess. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Dunno what kind of mother I can be. I’m guessing not a patch on Carla but I’ll do my best. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I hope I haven’t disappointed you. I’m sorry if you can’t forgive me.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Six</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>P.S. Called him Craig. Thought about Arcade. Figured you’d kill me. </span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Six buckled her boots with half an ear on the game Craig Junior was playing in the rec room and half on the radio. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>‘I’m mad about the boy…I know it’s stupid to be mad about the boy…’</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a grunt she flicked the station.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>‘Don’t say no, ‘cause I insist. Somewhere, somehow, someone’s gonna get kissed…’</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh come on,” she muttered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>‘Heartache number one was when you left me. I never knew that I could hurt this way-’</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She jabbed at the Pip-Boy on her arm and switched the radio off altogether. The elevator dinged and Arcade stepped out. Before he’d even crossed the hallway she heard herself asking; </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is he still out there?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Arcade frowned. “You know he is.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She sighed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re going to have to talk to him eventually.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He sat next to her on the bed letting her lean into him as she sighed again. She was going to talk to Boone. She was. She really was. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She just had to work up to it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re being ridiculous, you know?” Arcade said softly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six huffed. “He thought I’d keep this a secret. After everything-” She broke off under his pointed stare and dropped her eyes to the floor. “What if he’s leaving again? What if he’s just passing by? What if he doesn’t want anything to do with us and </span>
  <em>
    <span>don’t look at me like that</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” she hissed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Arcade held his hands up defensively. “What?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know what.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh the ‘I think you’re being ridiculous’ look? It’s because I think you’re being ridiculous. I also know you’re stalling. He’s been out there for two days. Go talk to him.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six took a deep breath, unsurprised when it failed to do anything to settle her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was heading out anyway. She had an appointment with the King so she’d have to walk past Boone sooner or later. And Arcade was right, she was being ridiculous. But then...she hadn’t expected to hear from Boone again. She certainly hadn’t expected to see him again. And if she had, she’d never thought for a moment that he wouldn’t know about their son…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their son. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She double-checked that she had everything she needed. Pack. Gun. Water. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stop stalling,” Arcade snapped. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright. Alright. I’m going.” She glanced in on Craig who was still too engrossed in his game to pay her any attention. “Bye, sweetie.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He just about managed a, “Bye!” before he went straight back to playing ‘Legionaries and Rangers’. Her eyes lingered on him a little longer; the very image of his father before she slipped into the elevator to leave the ‘38, a journey in itself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She tuned out the generic noise that accompanied living in a casino resort, ignoring everything but still managing the automatic smile and nod every time she heard someone call out, ‘Courier!’ </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone was waiting outside as he had been for the last two days. She’d seen him and received his message he sent via the greeter, but she hadn’t worked up the courage to go out there yet. Boone hadn’t pushed her, which was so like him it made her gut clench to think about it. He looked up and for a moment actually looked a little hopeful when he saw her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She tried to keep her face neutral but she couldn’t help the relief that he had come through another tour unscathed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I got your letters,” he said without preamble and red hot rage filled her. If he’d gotten the letters then why- “they got caught at the Outpost,” he added, quickly having sussed her mood in that way he’d always been able to. “I didn’t get them til after I saw you.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As quickly as it came the anger subsided and she felt exhausted. The day hadn’t even started yet and she was ready for it to end. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can we talk?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure,” she sighed but before either of them could say anything more, one of the hookers dancing in front of Gomorrah clocked the two of them standing off to the side. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>‘Check my moves, honey!’</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was like sending up a signal and several of the dancers started shimmying over to them in tune to the music drifting from the casino front. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six and Boone winced in unison. “I’m at the Wrangler,” he said as though there were anywhere else he could be. “Seven?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She sighed but managed to nod. “I’ve...I’ve got to go,” she muttered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He nodded and it was done. She let him get a little ahead of her so she didn’t have the awkwardness of having to walk with him without talking about anything of import. And small talk had never been their forte. Then she headed in the same direction he had gone and tried to put her mind anywhere but how close seven was. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She failed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six and the King had been supposed to be discussing what they knew of the latest chem dealings creeping into Freeside but she couldn’t take in a single word he said. She had a vague sense of him asking about her ‘soldier boy’ who’d holed himself up at Heartbreak Hotel but he mercifully hadn’t pressed her. Neither did Arcade when she found her way back to the ‘38. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She didn’t tell him specifically where she was going and she apparently didn’t need to. He just accepted it with a knowing smile and didn’t say anything more about it...at least until she was ready to leave. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re...wearing that?” he asked, gesturing to the beaten Courier’s duster she’d practically lived in since the Dam. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six glanced down casually, as though she hadn’t spent the best part of an afternoon agonising over what to wear. “It’s a conversation, not a date,” she said, voicing the thought that had seen her decide on her usual rather than something a little more flattering. Besides, Boone hadn’t ever paid any attention to what she wore. Well, except for that one time she’d tried on that dress she’d brought back from the Sierra Madre...she’d never seen him so red or leave a room so fast, but then he’d never seen her in anything less than wasteland grade armour so she could excuse his obvious horror. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, you’re not planning on rekindling your relationship then?” Arcade asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There was no relationship!” Six sighed. “It was one night, Arcade.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>One night.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “Not much chance of rekindling anything.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Arcade stared at her with that infuriating smile he wore when he knew something she didn’t but she didn’t have time to listen to his ‘you two were meant for each other’ theories right now. She wasn’t nearly drunk enough and she had somewhere to be. “Shut up,” she muttered, rolling her eyes. “And thanks...for watching him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This time Arcade’s smile was one of genuine warmth. “A pleasure.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I won’t be back late.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Take all the time you need,” he said with such sincerity she couldn’t help but arch an eyebrow at him. “I’m not an expert on parenting but I think I can handle things for a few days while you sort this out.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Days?!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Arcade I’m going to the Wrangler not the Divide.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, but I’ve seen the two of you have a conversation with your eyebrows so I imagine it’ll take you at least two days to say hello.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six laughed. He had a point. She stepped over to kiss him on the cheek and would have done the same for her son but he was engrossed in the latest cowboy film Arcade had found for him and barely noticed her leaving. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As soon as she stepped into the Wrangler, Francine Garrett gestured with a flick of her head that Six should head on up to the room that probably still belonged to her but she never used. It had seemed pointless with the ‘38 so close but she knew Cass and Veronica had made use of it on their nights of particularly hard drinking. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone was waiting for her and she felt a little overdressed compared to him with the heavier elements of his armour discarded. In just a shirt and pants, she saw for the first time that he’d at least filled out on his tour. It suited him. Before he’d left, he’d been mostly whisky and insomnia but now his clothes weren’t too loose on him and he seemed well-rested. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sit,” he grunted and Six realised a beat too late she’d been staring. “Drinks,” he muttered under his breath and he slipped out the door behind her, leaving her to take her place at the table he’d dragged in for them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The food was waiting for her, still steaming seeing as he must have known she’d arrive at exactly seven. Brahmin steak, of course. Fresh potatoes for her, carrots too, and she knew the fresh stuff didn’t come cheap. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Probably why he’d only gone for instamash for himself,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she noted with a sigh. Before he came back she slipped some of the carrots onto his plate and dared him to challenge her on it when he joined her with two bottles of Nuka-cola. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Trying to get me sober?” she tried to joke but no sooner had the words left her that she remembered the last time they’d seen each other...and how drunk they’d been...and what that had led to so she flushed and regretted it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Instead, she busied herself with the first taste of the meal and moaned softly. It was delicious. Nobody had ever cooked steak the way Boone could. A small smile broke across his lips but he didn’t say anything and instead focused on their dinner. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Neither of them spoke which hadn’t been unusual for them but never before had a silence between them been so awkward. The food provided a necessary distraction but once it was gone there was nothing but oppressive tension. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The courier who grabbed the letters for me…” Boone started, casting about for a way to start the conversation neither of them was ready to have. She could see why he’d grabbed them soda, though hard liquor would be welcome right about now. “He stopped at Novac. Got him to pick up one of those Dinky toys…” he hesitated. “Thought...Craig might like it?” he stumbled over the unfamiliarity of the name on his lips and Six felt her gut lurch in sympathy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The T-Rex thing?” she asked. “I think he’s got one…” she added. She’d meant it as a casual observation but there was no mistaking the grimace that crossed Boone’s face. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Shit</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” she sighed, “I’m sorry.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“S’okay,” he mumbled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t okay. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I hate this,” she sighed, burying her face in her hands as though it might relieve the stress. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry,” he said and she could have screamed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No. Not you! I hate...this. I never thought you missed all of my letters, okay? Not </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span> of them. They always told me they were being sent on. At first I figured your replies weren’t getting through. Then I thought you needed some time to get used to the idea and when I never heard anything...at all...I sorta figured you didn’t want anything to do with us.” The words came easily now that she’d started. “That was okay,” she said knowing full well that it had been anything but okay. “I mean we didn’t plan it and after Carla and everything...and then you showed up without a word-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You didn’t get my letter?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shook her head, “Then you thought that I’d kept it a secret and…” she broke off suddenly. “I’d never do that…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know,” Boone said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t...I wasn’t expecting…” He huffed but she gave him a soft smile. He’d never been all that good with words. Neither had she. It’s why they got on so well without them. “I’m sorry.” He said eventually. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze. It was as rough as it ever was but that first whisper of contact sent a warm thrill through her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone was back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m sorry,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” she sighed. “Really, I am...We should just start this again, right?” She stood and dusted herself down, extending her hands to him. “Hey Boone, welcome back. How was your tour?”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Conversation seemed to flow a little more naturally after that. The years fell away and they talked more than they’d ever talked before, but now they actually had something to say. At some point, they left the table and relocated to the bed, just like old times when the ruins of a single bed were all they could hope for and even then it had been a luxury. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They didn’t lie down but they did sit, cross-legged and curled up opposite each other. Boone told her about the places he’d been, the legionaries he’d killed, people he’d helped… She told him what was going on with the Strip, filled him in on what she’d heard of the others. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Gannon’s still here?” Boone asked as he flicked off the caps of another two Nukas for them. His mouth was fuzzy with its cloying sweetness but he didn’t care. Six was talking to him. Things felt a little more normal. He could handle some stinging in his teeth and the syrupy tang that seemed to coat his tongue for that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, he was going to go East but then I found out about the baby so he stayed.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That was good of him,” Boone conceded. He’d never especially warmed to Arcade who tried to invite conversation too often for Boone’s liking and spoke Latin. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fucking Latin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Six said, quietly, looking down at the space between them with a small, fond smile. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Another silence threatened to descend on them as Boone weighed up whether he was going to voice the question on his mind. “How was it?” he rasped, a little too quickly for the words to sound altogether coherent. “Being pregnant, I mean?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six relaxed back against the pillows she’d piled up behind her. “It was okay. I wasn’t sick or anything. Mostly, I worried. Worried about what I was going to do. What kind of mom I could be...what you must have thought, whether you’d be happy or not. Then, before I knew it, he was in my arms and instinct kicked in. Not sure I knew what I was doing. Not entirely sure I know now,” she added quietly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone smiled at her. Smiles came easier now. “I’m sure you’re doing great.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks.” She smiled back and for a moment it was just the two of them again. Bunking down on one bed, about to argue over who would take first watch knowing it would always be him. “So…” she hesitated as though afraid to ask. “You back now? For good?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Depends,” he said levelly, meeting her eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Another silence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can I meet him?” he asked so quietly he might not have even whispered it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She hesitated. It was brief but it was there and it was enough to make Boone panic. It was strange to have travelled across so many unforgiving battlezones and yet it was safe in a hotel room with Six that he should panic. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure,” she said but her lip was caught on between her teeth as she mulled it over. “Sure you can. I’d love for you to meet him but...if you decide that it’s too much or you can’t do it...Well…I’ll try to understand that.” She looked pained at the prospect. “But this isn’t something you dip in and out of, okay? You’re in or you’re out. If you wanna walk away after meeting him, you don’t walk back. Understand?” She spoke with an intensity he hadn’t heard, not even when she’d argued with the Legate Lanius. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay,” he said, knowing that wild brahmin wouldn’t be able to drag him away from his own kid. “Can I meet him?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure, Boone,” she smiled and relief as he had never felt before flooded through him. He was glad they’d stuck to Nuka. If it had been anything stronger, Boone would have been on the floor as his head swam with nothing more than elation. “It takes a while for him to get used to strangers, but he has lessons at the fort tomorrow. It’s mostly playing with Julie but he learns stuff sometimes too. You can walk with us and then...we’ll see what happens?” Boone nodded as her eyes flicked to the Pip-Boy on her wrist. “I need to be getting back,” she said but she sounded reluctant. She slipped off the bed. “Thanks for dinner. We’ll be leaving at nine-thirty.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll be there,” Boone said, already working out his schedule so he could be there before they left the ‘38. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six’s fingers curled around the door handle but she paused. “Hey...Boone?” There was a flush high in her cheeks. “It’s...It’s great to see you. I’m really glad you’re back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah. You look great,” he added and she blushed. All the shit they’d pulled in their time and she blushed at the compliment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She opened the door but before she could step out, Boone called her back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait…” he held out the dinosaur toy he’d had couriered with the mail. “Give this to him?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She looked down at it, a miniature replica of the dinosaur in whose mouth the two had met. She must have been thinking about it. Boone had yet to look at it and not think about it. She pushed his hands back, toy and all with a smile. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll let you give it to him yourself.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Not for the first time since he’d come back did Boone find himself waiting nervously for Six. He’d never been nervous before, not with her, not with the NCR, not even when they’d gone to the Fort and the Dam. But back then, the worst that could have happened was he got killed and at the time he hadn’t thought that a worst-case scenario. It was inevitable. Kind of fucked with him when he survived. But now? Now there seemed to be something at risk. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Something that mattered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maybe that’s why he’d gone to such lengths to make himself look presentable before he headed for the Lucky 38. A lot of it could have been attributed to old habits. Boone never went to bed without his armour clean and his gun ready, but still. When he woke up he showered, or at least the closest the Wrangler could get to such a thing. He was a little cleaner at least, and while he was at it he gave himself the closest shave he could manage with the blade he had. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was glad of it as he stood outside the ‘38 under the hot Mojave sun and he could feel beads of sweat trickle down from under his beret. Thankfully, he wasn’t waiting long. Boone had always had a soldier’s sense of timekeeping, something which Six had learned from him and apparently not forgotten. At nine-thirty, and not a moment before, she emerged from the ‘38 with the boy beside her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her eyes met his and he saw the relief in her face. He wasn’t sure what to make of that but he didn’t get much of a chance to think about it. In no time at all, Six was beside him and Boone got his first good look at his son. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And he really was, unmistakably his son. There was nothing of Six in him, he looked just as Boone had at his age. Boone stared at him and the boy stared back in open curiosity. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Craig, sweetie,” Six said and it took Boone a moment to realise that she wasn’t talking to him. “This is mommy’s friend. He’s going to walk with us if that’s okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Craig looked up at him but his eyes were mostly fixed on the rifle at Boone’s back. “Wow,” he breathed. “That’s the biggest gun in the world!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A laugh spilled out of Six even though she tried to stifle it and Boone heard the tinge of desperation fade out with it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not quite, sweetie,” she smiled. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Craig rolled his eyes and Boone might have chuckled at the gesture if he weren’t taking in every inch of the kid. “It’s much bigger than mommy’s,” he huffed, and at that, Boone did chuckle as his eyes darted automatically to the modified .45 on her hip. Boone had mocked it when she’d returned from Zion with it, he’d mocked her for taking it to the Dam and he was going to mock her for it now even if it hadn’t steered her wrong before. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Like you could do anything with </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> in Freeside,” she laughed back, gesturing to the heavy anti-material rifle on Boone’s back. “The hell are you going to do? Snipe in the streets?” Despite her teasing, she still smiled at the sight of it. It had been a gift, one of the few she’d given him but easily the most impressive. She’d gotten it from the Gun Runners, specially made for Boone after their trip to Bitter Springs. He’d been so sure it would be the end…”C’mon,” Six said before he could lose himself in his thoughts as he had been so prone to doing. “This way.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They stepped through the gate into Freeside as the securitrons wished them a good day. Craig waved to them as they passed. There wasn’t much talking. Craig walked a couple of steps ahead, waving at everyone who waved to him and was singing something that sounded like a song of his own creation. The words were never the same from one verse to the next and it was mostly nonsense. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone barely noticed; he hadn’t expected it to be so tense. He found his eyes darting everywhere, trying to clock every conceivable angle that someone could jump them. Everyone who called out a greeting to them was a potential attacker. Six had been right, his rifle wouldn’t have been the best use in such a built-up area but he had his sidearm tucked at his hip and his trigger finger itched every time someone new entered his line of sight. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six’s hand was gentle against his arm. “Hey. Relax,” she smiled. “It’s not as bad as you remember. The kings are pretty good at keeping order and a lot of the problems are gone. There’s mostly enough food, there’s water. Most of the rats are gone…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Most of,” Boone replied pointedly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Relax,” she said again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t but she didn’t push it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wondered how she could walk around so casually when it was easily the most nerve-wracking experience of Boone’s life. Anyone could jump out and one lucky shot could end Craig’s life. He wondered how Six could ever bear to leave the ‘38. But they were fine, as she said they would be. Nobody jumped out with a knife, nobody demanded their caps...they were okay.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Craig skipped into the fort, his eyes managing to find Julie even among a sea of white coats and doctors. Six let him go and gestured towards the desk where only one Follower doctor sat to greet them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I do the ol’ greet and guard in exchange for Craig’s lessons if you wanna stay? Or you can come back when-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll stay,” Boone said, taking the seat next to Six. He’d planned to stay anyway but now he was determined to walk them back when they were done and tried not to read too much into Six’s smile when she joined him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was just like old times. They didn’t talk. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone found himself watching Craig whenever he caught sight of him moving between tents or looking intently at whatever Julie was showing him. He looked back at Six directing the latest chem junkie to drag themselves through the door towards a tent for treatment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wanted to ask...but he wasn’t sure what the ‘delicate’ way of asking would be.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You okay for caps?” he asked bluntly but she wasn’t offended. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We get by,” she shrugged. “Always someone wanting something done. I do jobs for the families, the kings, mostly the Followers. McCarren calls me sometimes. Arcade keeps us healthy and I live at the ‘38 free, y’know...seeing as it was me that gave it back to the Strip.” She said it like it was no big deal. “What about you? What will you do now?” she asked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He returned her shrug. “Pay will last me a while.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And then?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone glanced past her to where Craig was following Julie with a pouch of stimpaks. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Depends.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They didn’t speak again but it was as comfortable as it used to be. Craig entertained them on the way back talking about everything Julie had taught him even though Boone couldn’t make out half of what he was saying. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Outside the ‘38 he surprised both Boone and Six by asking Boone in for dinner. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six looked between the two of them. “He’s...he’s not usually so friendly so quickly…” she started.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone decided to save her some stumbling and offered, “Maybe tomorrow? I’ll cook.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six laughed. “Tomorrow. But, </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’ll</span>
  </em>
  <span> cook,” she said firmly. As she took Craig inside Boone heard her muttering, “Don’t want him tasting your cooking and liking you better.” </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Boone met Six and Craig at the fort the following day. She’d said he could just meet them at the ‘38 but he didn’t want them walking back without him. He knew he was being unreasonable; Six had kept Craig alive for almost five years just fine without Boone but...now she didn’t have to. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello!” Craig called out as soon as he saw Boone, waving enthusiastically. Six smiled too and Boone felt his usual stoic expression soften. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t have to walk us back, you know?” Six said. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I want to,” Boone said with a shrug. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six didn’t object and they fell into a natural step following Craig back to the ‘38.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was ironic that when something actually happened, Boone missed it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>One moment his eyes had been on Craig skipping ahead and the next Craig was gone, having ducked behind the wreck of a nearby car for cover. Six was staring down a guy off the street, the .45 that Boone had always mocked drawn and levelled at him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone drew his sidearm as he recognised the jittery signs of a chem junkie. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Keep walking,” Six called out with a hint of menace in her voice. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I just want some jet!” the guy shouted back but he’d thought twice when he saw the two guns levelled at him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six’s eyes narrowed and she fired off a warning shot which was a damn sight kinder than what Boone wanted to do to him. The guy stumbled backwards and disappeared into whatever gutter he’d crawled from as a handful of kings came running to see what the noise was. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Craig?” Six called and Craig ran back, throwing his arms around Six’s legs. Boone watched it all with his heart pounding in his chest. “You did so good,” she smiled at their son, kissing him on the top of his head. “Let’s go.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As though they hadn’t stopped, Craig went ahead of them again and Six’s gun went back to her hip. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It happens,” she sighed quietly. Boone hadn’t put his gun away. “Not often, but it happens.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Within a few minutes, Craig had forgotten the whole thing, leading them into the ‘38 and looking rather pleased with himself that Boone was joining them for dinner. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come see my room!” Craig said as soon as the elevator doors opened into the presidential suite. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone hesitated but Six nudged him forward. “Go on. I’ll get dinner started.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The guest room looked practically the same as it had when Boone and the others had bunked there. But instead of scrap metal, ammo and empty bottles of moonshine, the shelves were lined with teddy bears, Nuka-cola trucks and some pre-war comic books that Boone assumed must have been suitable for children. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He turned to Craig for what he assumed would be the tour but instead, he found the boy looking up at him curiously. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you with the NCR?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is that why you wear a funny hat?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s a beret.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you ever take it off?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mommy’s got a hat like that,” Craig said happily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know,” Boone couldn’t help but smile. “I gave it to her…” </span>
  <em>
    <span>It was her signal for me to blow the brains out of whoever she was standing next to</span>
  </em>
  <span>...he thought but didn’t say. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Craig seemed to be waiting for the rest of the story but when it wasn’t forthcoming, he turned and started showing Boone his toy cars instead. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone inwardly berated himself. One word answers were fine for the guys on his squadron who he didn’t care about getting too friendly with but he really was going to have to work on conversation. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So...what’s your favourite car?” Boone asked and Craig gleefully showed him one that looked identical to all the others but held a piece of the boy’s heart that Boone couldn’t discern. He looked at it for a moment but couldn’t think of anything else to say and sighed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Six called them for dinner it seemed like a mercy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thankfully, Boone was not expected to make conversation over food. Not that he could have gotten a word in if he’d tried. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With an excitement he clearly hadn’t inherited from his mother or his father, Craig was happy to talk. Some of it made sense, most of it was a stream of consciousness that went nowhere but was apparently important to the kid. Six and Boone exchanged amused looks across the table and Six taught Boone the art of feigning interest in whatever was being said, even when she didn’t understand it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yeah?...Uh huh?...No way!...Hey, that’s good...Really?...</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six was clearing their plates away despite Boone’s objections when Craig started complaining in anticipation of his bedtime. “But teddy doesn’t want to go to bed yet and he won’t let me go to bed until we’ve finished our game and we-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone felt entirely out of his depth, especially as Six muttered out responses that seemed more ingrained than anything else. He caught her eyes as she rolled them but then he remembered the toy in his pocket and figured he might be able to do something after all. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, kid,” Boone rasped, still unused to the boy’s name on his lips. “I got something for you.” He held out the miniature T-Rex and Craig took it with an unmistakable cry of glee. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow! Dinky!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“<em>Craig</em>,” Six called sternly, fixing him with a pointed stare. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Craig flushed under her gaze and turned back to Boone. “Thank you, sir,” he said happily but Boone felt the dinner he’d just eaten churn in his stomach.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span><em>Sir</em>. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six turned away quickly so Boone couldn’t see her face and he sighed. “You know…” he added, trying to make an effort. “Your mom and I met inside a dinosaur just like this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You did?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Craig breathed in wonder though he looked at Six as though she had somehow betrayed him by keeping the story from him. “Tell me!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But it was late and Six had already said he should get ready for bed and kids went to bed after dinner, right? So Boone gave him half a smile instead, “Some other time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tomorrow?” Craig asked hopefully.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone looked over his head at Six who returned his smile and gave a small nod of affirmation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tomorrow.” </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>That first day set a comfortable routine. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone would head to the ‘38 in the morning. He always intended to arrive for breakfast so he could save Six a job, but Craig was always up before him no matter how early he got there. Boone wasn’t sure how he managed it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’d stay the day. Sometimes Craig would have lessons in the fort, sometimes they’d stay in. One day, Craig decided to take Boone on a tour of the Lucky ‘38 and nobody found it strange that a small child was leading an NCR sniper around the casino floor pointing out things he wasn’t allowed to touch. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Whatever it was they did though, Boone had become an integral part of Craig’s games. He’d explained NCR hierarchy through the medium of teddy bears (but Boone was always the Dinky toy). He’d told him about the day a wide-eyed Courier had stumbled into a sniper’s nest in the mouth of a dinosaur but had left out some of the messier details. Not many of his stories were suitable for a child’s ears. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He started staying after Craig had gone to bed too. Mostly, he helped Six clear up and afterwards they’d sit in their usual silence as they cleaned their guns. Occasionally, they’d talk. Sometimes, they’d share a drink. Never too much though. They were friendly but there was an edge to their silences. A tension they hadn’t addressed. Boone wasn’t sure how to bring it up and there was always something he could ask about Craig instead.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So...I’ve been thinking…” Six said over a beer. A single beer. “Tomorrow, Craig’s going out with Arcade and I’ve got a job but when I’m done...I thought I could swing by the Wrangler and we could talk before we pick him up?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Talk?” Boone asked, already assuming the worst. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well...it seems weird pretending you don’t live here when you only go back to the Wrangler to sleep and we’ve got to figure out what he’s going to call you. If you’re sticking around, he can’t keep calling you ‘sir’.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You...want me to move in?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six’s cheeks flushed red. “Well...I mean...not...You don’t have to move in here with me- us...but...there’s…” She drained the last of her beer and cleared her throat. “There’s plenty of rooms here, I can figure something out with the guys downstairs.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone smiled. “That’d be great. You need help with the job?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s just helping out repairing some pipes out...</span>
  <em>
    <span>there</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” she waved her arm to indicate the general desert. “Shouldn’t take long. I’ll be back before dinner and then we can...figure something out?” She flushed again as though she’d gone too far. “I mean unless you’re happy at the Wrangler? I just thought-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’d be great,” he said again, wondering why she should second guess herself around him when she’d always been so certain in the past. “You sure you don’t want me to come with?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s just some pipes. What’s the worst that can happen?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He scoffed. “Just like delivering a package,” he said with a roll of his eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She laughed. “Good point, but really, it’s fine. It’s only a couple of hours.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone drained the last of his own beer and rose to leave her. He slung his rifle over his back, carrying it more from habit than necessity these days. “You be safe,” he muttered, patting her shoulder as he left, his hand lingering a little longer than it normally would. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She met his gaze with a smile. “I will...and then...we’ll talk.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was a testament to his new normal that Boone found himself unable to think of a single thing to do for the few hours without Six and Craig. He thought about heading to McCarran to see if he could make himself useful around there but if he did they might keep him longer than he wanted and he’d miss Six on her way back. He wasn’t going to risk that. He could stick around the Wrangler but there were only so many times he could hear ‘Fisto is programmed for your pleasure’ before he inevitably shot the damned robot. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In the end, he went for a walk which landed him escorting a tourist from the East Gate to the Strip. He hadn’t expected anything for it but the guy dropped fifty caps on him for his time. Then, there was little to do but strip his rifle and give it a good clean even though it hardly needed it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>By the time the knock at the door came, Boone was stretched out on the bed, thumbing his way through a Milsurp Review he’d picked up at McCarran but never expected to actually read. Warmth flooded through him at the sound and as he tossed the magazine aside he took a moment to brush himself down even though Six wouldn’t mind if he were a little dishevelled. She’d seen him at his worst but he wanted to look at the very least presentable. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He couldn’t keep the smile from his face as he opened the door but it fell when his eyes found one of the Follower’s guards rather than the courier he was expecting. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Doctor Gannon needs you at the fort,” the guard said without preamble. “It’s urgent.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone felt the blood drain from him on the spot. The Follower said something more but Boone could hear nothing over the pounding in his ears. On autopilot, he grabbed his rifle and his beret. He left the guard behind him, his only thought to get to the fort. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He couldn’t remember moving so fast in his life. There was only his heart thundering in his ears and the sound of his ragged breath. He’d always been able to remain calm in life or death situations but his son had never been at risk before. His mind was trying to do its best to run away with worst-case scenarios and the image of Craig injured or worse kept forcing itself to the forefront of his mind. Boone kicked at the doors to the fort in frustration. Had they always taken so long to open? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He saw Craig before anything else and relief like he’d never known flooded through him. Boone reached out to the nearest post to steady himself. Craig was alright. He took a breath and felt the stress leave with it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Craig was alright. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But almost as soon as he felt like he could breathe again, Boone heard a cry from one of the tents and his blood ran cold. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’d recognise Six anywhere. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Craig’s head jerked up at the sound and even at a distance, Boone could see he’d been crying. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey,” Boone called, jogging to his side and kneeling down beside him. “Hey, she’s going to be alright.” He tried to sound reassuring even though he had absolutely no idea whether she was going to be alright or not. But this was Six. She’d gotten over a bullet to the brain. She wasn’t going to die here. Not like this. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She couldn’t.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m going to check on your mom, okay?” Boone rasped but Craig didn’t give any response. Boone wasn’t sure if he’d even heard him but he didn’t push it and ducked quickly into the tent he’d heard Six’s cries come from. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’d braced himself for something terrible but it still hadn’t prepared him for the sight that greeted him. Six was lying on one of the cleaner looking beds but her blood had already seeped into it, forever staining it beyond saving. One of the doctors held a leather belt for her to bite down on and Boone wondered why they hadn’t just given her a dose of med-x. As Boone entered, he saw Arcade retrieve a bullet from her midriff, letting it drop to the floor in favour of trying to sew Six up. The doctor with the belt gave her half a dose from a stimpak and Boone felt his anger boil. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Half a dose and no med-x? For the goddamn Courier? If it hadn’t been for her there probably wouldn’t even be a Follower’s outpost here…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Arcade finished his work in record time, as he always had, and Six fell back against the gurney. Pale, unconscious, but breathing at least. Arcade wiped his hands on the nearest rag and only when he was satisfied that he’d done everything he could for Six did he look up at Boone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not quite how I’d imagined catching up with you again,” he sighed, his hair a little thinner than it had been but otherwise the same unmistakable Arcade. Boone had no intention of ‘catching up’ with anything. Especially not with Six lying on a goddamn gurney. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Arcade followed the movement of Boone’s eyes and he almost smirked when he realised that Boone was as much for small talk as he’d ever been. “Fiends,” he sighed. “NCR’s got them locked down tight so they get desperate. She’ll be okay but she’ll need some looking after…” Arcade waited for Boone to pick up on the point that he was insinuating but Boone just stared at him blankly. “You need to take Craig back to the ‘38 until Six is on her feet.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone kept staring. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Craig. You need to take him home and stay there. It’s not going to be safe to move her for a couple of days and I’m going to be here making sure she doesn’t kill herself trying to get back home before she’s ready.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>‘Why me?’</span>
  </em>
  <span> Boone </span>
  <em>
    <span>almost</span>
  </em>
  <span> asked but caught himself before he actually said it aloud.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Arcade gestured to the empty stimpak that had only held half a dose. “We’re stretched pretty thin here. Besides, you’ll be fine. Really,” he added and Boone might have appreciated the sentiment if he weren’t already trying to figure out what the hell he was supposed to do with the boy that was apparently his sole responsibility for now. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Craig was still sitting in the chair Boone had left him in. He’d stopped crying at least but his eyes were fixed on the floor. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey,” Boone murmured. “Hey,” he said firmly, forcing Craig to look up at him through tone alone. “Your mom’s okay. She’ll be fine.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Craig glared at him. “Are you lying?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone flinched, feeling like he’d been caught out even though he knew Six really would be fine. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can I see her?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone could see the blood soaking into the bed, the paleness of Six’s skin, the strain on Arcade’s face and made his first parental decision. “Not right now.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Craig looked as though he might start crying again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your mom’s resting,” Boone offered, trying to sound gentle. Did he sound gentle? Or was he just quiet? “But tomorrow we can come see her, okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Craig seemed to think about it for a moment before he held both his arms out to Boone in what might have been acceptance. Boone lifted him up into his arms, holding him across his chest as Craig locked his arms and legs around him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was asleep before they’d left the fort. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There wasn’t much chance of Boone being able to fight off anyone who tried their luck, not with Craig sleeping against him. Thankfully, a nameless King saw him and walked him to the Strip without a word. Craig slept through the gates opening, the rowdy casino floor and the enthusiastic barking from Rex as Boone stepped into the suite. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>By the time he reached Craig’s room, Boone didn’t want to put him down. His arms ached from the strain, unused to carrying such a deadweight the way he had but he didn’t care. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He could have carried him forever. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Twelve minutes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone had been alone in the ‘38 with his son for twelve minutes and he was already out of his depth. It was almost impressive given that Craig had been asleep for the whole time. But then that had been the problem. It wasn’t late yet...or was it? Should he let him sleep? Should he wake him up and put him to bed later? In the end, he decided to let the kid be. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But then...should Boone try and get some rest himself? He wasn’t tired but then did he really want to be dealing with everything without a clear head? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Beer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That’s what he needed. A beer. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The fridge was well-stocked at least. Breakfast wouldn’t be a problem. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span><em>Oh Christ</em>, he had to make breakfast. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What the hell did the kid eat? Why hadn’t Boone paid any attention to the meals Six had cooked them? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He let the fridge food close and rested his forehead against it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>One problem at a time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Right now he was going to drink his beer and find somewhere to crash. He didn’t have to worry about anything else. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone stretched out, rolling his neck and wincing when it clicked. He leaned back against the fridge and sipped the beer. The suite was quieter than he’d ever known it. Even back in the day when the others had taken themselves off to bed there had always been ED-E buzzing around the hallway. When he’d finished, Boone left the bottle on the side and faced the next problem. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Where was he going to sleep?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He checked on Craig who was snoring lightly. Even though he was just a tiny kid, he managed to take up most of the double bed as he lay spread-eagled across it. Boone managed to stifle a laugh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Just like his mother. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rex was curled up at the bottom of the bed which made Boone feel better about going to sleep while Craig slept. But then, this was the ‘38. Nothing was going to get into the suite, certainly nothing that could hurt them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was another bed in Craig’s room but Boone wasn’t sure if Craig would mind him sleeping there. Would it be a shock to wake up after hearing his mother screaming in a med-tent to find Boone in his room? Would it be reassuring? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had no idea. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was the sofa in the rec room. That would do. Besides, once upon a time, the sofa in the rec room had been more comfortable than any of the beds Boone had ever slept in, so it wasn’t exactly a hardship. He pressed down on it to check but nope - it was still good. He kicked his boots off and lay down, slipping his shades onto the table beside him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He closed his eyes, having been conditioned enough on tour to know that sleep would come quickly if he did. It was strangely satisfying to be back around such familiar comforts. He'd not missed the '38 beyond its occupant, but as he sank into the plush cushions with more than enough room to stretch out, he felt distinctly like he’d come home. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The trick to falling asleep was to keep the mind off anything remotely engaging so Boone focused on inoffensive, mundane things like wondering when the last time he actually sat on a couch was. They didn’t have such things at the Wrangler and his tour hadn’t exactly come with furnishings beyond his bedroll and half a tent. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In fact...if he thought about it...the last time he’d been this comfortable was probably on this very same couch...before he’d shipped out…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His eyes snapped open and he almost fell off the couch in his haste to get off it but the image of Six with her head flung back as she ground down on him was already burned into his mind’s eye. He could hear the soft gasps that she couldn’t even try to hold back and-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He needed to find somewhere else to sleep.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone headed back into the hallway, trying to put his mind anywhere but on Six, her skin glimmering with a sheen of their sweat, her lips tasting like everything they’d drunk but still as sweet as he knew they’d be- </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Stop it,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> he snapped at himself, cursing himself even more when he heard Rex stir at the sound. He wasn’t going to think about it. He wasn’t burning from the inside out. He wasn’t harder than he could ever remember being. He wasn’t clenching and unclenching his fists so he didn’t just duck into the bathroom and take care of himself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It didn’t help that the only room left to him was Six’s room but they’d never...not in there…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It felt strange to stand in a room he’d only ever entered a handful of times even though the door had never been closed. Not even when she’d been asleep. It wasn’t that the room was off-limits, it was just that Boone had never really had a reason to go in there. He found himself looking about the place, taking everything that was </span>
  <em>
    <span>Six</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was the terminal that had never worked before but now it looked like someone had gotten it working enough to play some games, maybe take a few notes. There was the bureau that back in the day had been littered with shell cases and junk they’d scavenged. Now it's shelves were laden with trinkets from her time before the dam; a handful of star caps, the ‘mark of Caesar’ Vulpes had given her when he’d thought they might have a chance of winning her over. She never used it. They’d blasted everyone in the fort instead. There was a rocket toy, still glowing next to the ‘scripture’ someone had given her in Zion but she’d never said who. There was the last of the gold bars she’d brought back from the place she didn’t talk about…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a shelf of liquor bottles minus their liquor and instead filled with crumpled NCR notes, Legion denarius, a load of .308 rounds and...sand? He huffed a small smile; Six had always kept the weirdest things. There were deep gouges in the wall beside the shelf where she’d drawn tallied lines, straight and uniform in contrast to the desperate hacks in places, like the marks on his- </span>
  <em>
    <span>No</span>
  </em>
  <span>. No need to think of that. The wall threatened to crumble away in places and had delivered on its threat in others. His fingers traced the scars idly as he headed for the bed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Would Six mind him sleeping in her bed? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Probably not. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He lay down on the covers as though afraid it might swallow him if he slipped into it fully. There was something soft but lumpy beneath him and he reached under the sheets to find a Dinky plush. It looked just like it too, though it had seen better days. Some of its fluffy scales had long fallen off, the seams were worn and in some places tattered. It’s finest days were long behind it. It was stained with what looked like blood and somehow it had gotten singed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But Boone couldn’t help but smile at the beret in which it sat. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The same one he’d given her in the real Dinky’s mouth. The one she had worn every day they’d been together and all of those they hadn’t, right up until the day he deployed. He wasn’t sure how such a thing had ended up in Six’s bed but then Craig’s stuff did seem to spread everywhere. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He put it aside to put back in Craig’s room in the morning and lay back down.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The pillows smelled of desert wind and broc flowers. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He couldn’t sleep here. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As Boone rose, he knocked something to the floor from the nightstand. At first, he thought it was just a scrap of paper but when he reached for it he realised it was a photograph. His breath caught in his throat when he turned it over and found himself looking at himself. He was squatting low on a mount, his rifle out, and from the stern set of his face, he was about to blow something away. Six’s hand across the bottom read Boone and a code that meant nothing to him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He couldn’t remember her taking it. Or how she might have done so. Probably when they had to trek across the entire goddamn desert with some shut-in’s camera. He placed it back on the nightstand wondering why Six should keep a picture of him so close. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Probably best not to think about it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six’s couch it was. The uncomfortable one.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The scent of her was fainter and it was uncomfortable as all hell but at least it didn’t have the memories of the other one. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It was easy to keep watch when the elevator announced any visitors to the suite. The moment the ‘ding’ rang out, Boone’s eyes were open though he wasn’t entirely surprised to see Arcade step out. He looked amused more than surprised to find Boone where he did. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is there a reason you decided to sleep on the most uncomfortable couch in the entire Mojave when there’s a perfectly serviceable bed right there?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone looked up at him, not daring to move. To do so would be to invite the many aches and pains he had no doubt acquired during his nap to make themselves known. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Might be,” he said, not volunteering anything more. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Arcade waited for a moment before breaking into a large grin. “As talkative as ever I see. I thought another tour might have loosened your tongue.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone tried not to smile. “You haven’t changed either.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Arcade chuckled as he took the other sofa and Boone sighed, knowing that now he </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>to sit up. Every one of his joints protested their discomfort and even Arcade winced at the various pops and clicks as Boone pulled himself up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How’s Six?” Boone rasped before Arcade could offer something to help. Or worse </span>
  <em>
    <span>a massage</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Doing well. She’s not in any danger now, she’s just weak. At this point, there’s nothing to do but let her rest. She’ll be okay to move in a couple of days,” he added, answering the question Boone hadn’t asked. “You can bring Craig to see her but he can’t stay long. She really does need to rest.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone could remember several times when Arcade had tried to keep Six in bed while she swore she was fine even if she couldn’t stand. From the way Arcade was smiling, Boone could tell he was thinking of the same thing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I should be getting back,” he said but he didn’t make an attempt to move. “Unless you have any questions?” he asked searchingly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone just stared at him, wondering what he could possibly ask that he hadn’t already been told. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Guess not,” Arcade muttered. “I’ll see you tomorrow...later...whatever…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone watched him go but before he got into the elevator, Arcade dashed back, poking his head into the room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He likes eggs for breakfast. Six has some prickly pears sent down from Zion that he likes but only if you peel them first. He’s not allowed Nuka with his breakfast and he will ask for it. There’s purified water in the second fridge and Six has a tab with the kitchen downstairs,” he said quickly, as though afraid Boone might shoot him if he said too much. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone stared at him for a moment longer before rolling his eyes. Arcade ducked quickly into the elevator as Boone decided to make for the bathroom muttering under his breath, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>...fusses just like his damn mother.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’d never admit that he was actually grateful for Arcade’s hurried advice. He managed to get a little more sleep and was up at a reasonable hour while Craig slept on. Boone decided not to wake him. He’d wake up when he was ready...or at least that’s what Boone figured. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He jumped into the shower and allowed himself to stay there a little longer than he usually would just because the water was hot. Actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>hot</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He’d forgotten the little comforts the ‘38 offered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone slipped into the kid’s bedroom just to check on him but no- he was still fast asleep. Rex had woken but was keeping his watch at the end of the bed. Boone quietly tidied the room a little, returning the dinosaur plush he’d found to the box with all the other teddies. He opened what he thought was another toy box only to find his old clothes all folded and tucked away neatly as they had been when he’d lived here. Six had probably never gone through all the crates of stuff they’d all left lying around but it meant he could at least change into something clean. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then there was only breakfast to make. Boone set to work whisking up what looked like eggs that had come from a bird rather than a reptile and heating some pork ‘n’ beans to go with them for good measure. He sliced a pear he found in the fridge that looked so green and inviting it could only have come from Zion and he poured out a glass of purified water. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He arranged the plate and set it on a tray before he started worrying about portion sizes. He’d never paid attention to how much or little Six served the kid. As it stood, Craig had more than Boone did but then Boone could always finish the leftovers. Still, he felt unreasonably nervous as he took the tray into Craig’s room and decided he should probably wake up now. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Craig looked up at him through bleary eyes but the moment he saw the food he sat up straight and pulled the tray towards him with a mumbled ‘thank you.’ </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can I see mommy?” he asked, spraying a mouthful of beans and egg over the covers. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone winced, Six would probably have given him breakfast at the kitchen table. He nodded. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Words, Boone. Use words.</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Later.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dammit. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The word hung in the air between them while Craig looked up at him, expecting more. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone cleared his throat awkwardly. “We’ll go later,” he offered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It seemed enough. Craig carried on eating but his eyes didn’t leave Boone’s face and his bedcover suffered accordingly. Boone would have to clean it before Six got back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s your name?” Craig asked with a bluntness only a child could get away with without being considered rude. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone hesitated. “Boone,” he said, eventually. “Craig Boone.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Craig’s eyes widened in sheer wonder. “But...But that’s my name!” he breathed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wore the biggest smile Boone had ever seen on a boy’s face and for a moment he smiled back thinking that he could get through this. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That sentiment was tested within the hour. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was Sergeant Craig Boone of NCR’s First Recon. He had helped secure Hoover Dam and driven the Legion so far into the East they made the failure of the Malpais Legate look like a slap on the wrist. He could cook for an entire squadron over a campfire he could make in less than five minutes regardless of conditions. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>None of which seemed to help him balance the necessary tasks of watching a small child. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It seemed that half a day had passed and all Boone had done was gotten Craig dressed and cleaned up their breakfast dishes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wondered how Six ever got anything done. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You wanna see your mom?” Boone snapped, already annoyed at how he had to resort to that to get Craig to seemingly do anything. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes!” Craig shouted back but it took him at least another hour to find shoes even though he only owned two pairs and they were both placed neatly in the closet. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was all worth it when Craig saw his mother. She was tired, weak and could only sit up because Arcade had piled up what must have been every pillow the fort had behind her but she still reached for Craig when he launched himself at her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It must have hurt like hell. Boone recognised the way her lip twisted from the many, many times he’d had to stitch her up. But she didn’t say anything. Neither did Craig. Despite the pain she must have been in, she pulled him onto her lap and the two of them settled down together as she mouthed a </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘thank you’</span>
  </em>
  <span> to Boone. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“I want to stay with mommy!” Craig shouted and not for the first time. The way he stomped his foot into the ground might have been funny if it weren’t all part of gearing up for a tantrum. Boone hadn’t seen Craig throw one but even he could tell that a big one was building. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Arcade knelt beside him, one hand on Craig’s shoulder as he said in his most soothing doctor’s voice. “Craig, your mom needs to stay here for a little while longer, okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But I don’t want her to!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll take him back,” Six said, trying to pull herself up even though she could barely manage that. “I can make it, it’s fine-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No you can’t!” Arcade snapped back, ready to manhandle her if he needed to. His eyes flickered to Boone as though afraid Boone was going to join them in their madness. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>She can’t!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone shifted the rifle on his back and took a step towards them. “Stay here,” he snapped at Six and picked Craig up over his shoulder with one arm. “I’ll bring him back tomorrow,” he said to Arcade as he passed him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh…” Arcade stuttered, “I can come over if-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tomorrow,” Boone said again firmly and carried Craig back to the ‘38 in a very different manner to the way he’d done so the day before. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Craig tried to wriggle out of the hold but it was easy enough for Boone to keep his grip. The kid cried and screamed next to Boone’s ear but he didn’t relent. Everyone they passed looked over at them, some of the Kings gave Boone a sympathetic wince but he ignored them. Some of the tourists on the casino floor of the ‘38 looked up in alarm when they heard the crying and those who were in the elevator quickly slipped out when they realised that was where Boone was heading. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I want to see mommy!” Craig screamed into Boone’s face when his feet finally touched down in the presidential suite. “I want to see mommy now!” His face was red from the effort of crying. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone knelt down as he’d seen Arcade doing, bringing himself down to Craig’s level. “Your mom needs to rest. We’ll see her tomorrow.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Craig screwed his face up and Boone braced himself for the resulting cries. As he let loose though, Craig turned and ran into his bedroom, trying and failing to slam the door behind him. Still on his knees in the hallway, Boone sighed and flipped off his shades so he could rub his eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This would all be so much easier if he hadn’t missed so many years of the kid’s life. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The crying died down relatively quickly though it was followed by some rather ominous shuffling and crashes. Boone could still hear Craig moving around though so he didn’t intrude. There’d be plenty of time for that and he wasn’t surprised when he knocked on the door and received no answer, not even when he asked if Craig wanted something to eat. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In an attempt to placate the kid, Boone piled a plate high with the fruit he knew he liked and snack cakes which he assumed he’d enjoy. He added some chips and junk food in the hopes that it might at least tempt Craig beyond the door and grabbed them both a bottle of Nuka, hoping he wasn’t about to ruin the kid’s diet too much. One night of trash wouldn’t hurt though. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Would it?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He managed to juggle the tray enough to knock at the door. Craig didn’t call him in but didn’t turn him away either. Boone took that as a good sign and somehow managed to get himself and the tray through the door without dropping anything... only to immediately trip over the mass of toys and books Craig had apparently gathered to form a makeshift barricade. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone grabbed the Nukas as they fell but the rest of the food crashed to the floor. A mass of blankets hidden under one of the beds chuckled. Boone sighed as he picked everything up, making sure to keep to his ‘side’ of the barricade. He sat down and looked over at where Craig was still hiding, convinced that because he couldn’t see Boone, Boone couldn’t see him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did your mom ever tell you about Camp Searchlight?” he asked the space between them. He hadn’t expected an answer and he didn’t get one. “It was an NCR base for the most part. Down South.” He paused. Craig was still quiet. “Anyway, your mom and I went there this one time. Whole place was irradiated. Warnings all around town and ghouls for miles. NCR still had this small base there, just a sergeant and a handful of troopers. Sergeant asked us if we could go in, put down the NCR guys who’d become ghouls. Your mom said, sure…” he smirked. </span>
  <em>
    <span>She always said ‘sure’</span>
  </em>
  <span>. “We only had one radiation suit and not enough rad-away for the two of us. So she went in on her own, told me to wait and she’d be back in a couple of hours. Couple of hours later and she wasn’t back. Couple of hours after that, I wanted to go in after her. Troopers had to hold me back. Anyway, just as I was getting ready to go in anyway your mom strolls back, happy as anything with all these dog tags hanging from her belt. I wanted to go after her too but I had to stay put. Now she needs you to do the same.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone sighed. Talking to Craig was coming easier but he still wasn’t used to it. It hadn’t worked either; Craig remained a heap of blankets under the bed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did mommy kill </span>
  <em>
    <span>all </span>
  </em>
  <span>the ghouls?” a muffled voice asked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone tried not to grin. “She did, yeah.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The blankets shifted and Craig poked his face out from under them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Will you tell me more stories about mommy?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’d like to,” Boone shrugged. “Can’t really hear you so well all the way over there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was some shuffling as Craig pulled himself out from under the bed and settled himself on the other side of the wall he’d built. He thought for a moment and then quickly pushed aside the toys between him and Boone so he could move closer. He took a snack cake before looking up at Boone expectantly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tell me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone cracked open their colas and passed one over to Craig who looked up at him with obvious glee. Pulling the tray between them, he watched as Craig started on the rest of the food and started casting around in his memory for stories about the different kinds of hell he and Six had raised back in the day. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Even though Arcade’s back was to her, Six knew that he could still see her. The guy had some kind of medical sixth sense. She waited until he was a little more absorbed in whatever it was he was doing before she tried to sit up a little. She managed about an inch before pain radiated through her from where she’d been shot and she let out a ragged breath. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s easier if you don’t move,” Arcade reminded her, his tone clipped as it always was after they’d argued and she sighed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What time is it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Five minutes from when you last asked me,” Arcade said but then he seemed to soften. “They’ll be along.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She opened her mouth to say something but he caught her eye so she fell silent, letting herself settle against the uncomfortable stretcher and straining her ears for any hint of her son. When she heard him, she couldn’t help but grin, warmth settling into her body that did more good for her than any of Arcade’s shots. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even from inside the tent across the courtyard, Six could hear his excited chatter. Her grin grew even wider if such a thing were possible when she heard the low rumble of Boone’s response. If she wasn’t still floating from the remaining med-x in her system she might have been surprised that they were apparently having a conversation. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mommy!” Craig all but shouted the moment he appeared at the entry flap. He ran to her side and grinned up at her, “Mr. Boone told me about the stuff you did with Red Lucy!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six felt her cheeks flush bright red as she managed to tear her eyes off her son to look at Boone who was smirking? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Smirking?</span>
  </em>
  <span> “He...what?!” she heard herself babbling, what the hell kind of stories had he been telling their-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you really wrestle a deathclaw?!” Craig asked eagerly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Relief. Glorious relief flooded through her and she let her head thud back against the pillow. Or at least the closest the Followers had to such a thing. “Oh that. Thank God…” she caught Boone’s eye and that was a mistake. She was bright red and he’d obviously caught up, his jaw set as he tried not to remember that first time they’d taken each other. Not that either of them had counted it seeing as Red Lucy had been between them at the time...and under them...and over them…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six cleared her throat as Boone looked away awkwardly. “Oh...yeah...yeah I did.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Craig looked up at her as though he’d never seen her before. “Wow!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey Craig,” Arcade called over, a folded piece of paper in his hand. “I’ve got a job for you. Could you take this to Julie for me, please?” Craig looked back at Six but she nodded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ll be right back,” she smiled. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The grown-ups need to talk,” Arcade muttered as Craig took the paper and disappeared from the tent. “Though given how you’re behaving, I don’t think you qualify,” he added, narrowing his eyes at Six. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She could feel Boone looking between the two of them, probably wondering how he could leave for five years and come back to find them having the same arguments. “Problem?” he asked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nope,” Six said firmly as she glared at Arcade. “I want to go home. Doc here says I should wait.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Obviously, being a doctor, I have no medical knowledge to base that on. I’m simply trying to inconvenience you,” Arcade said, managing to roll his eyes without actually moving them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Arcade, I’m going stir crazy. Just let me go home!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Arcade sighed, sounding far older than he was. “And when you get there? You’ll start running around after Craig. You won’t rest, you’ll tear your stitches-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She won’t,” Boone said, surprising them both. “I’ll keep an eye on her and I’ll watch the kid.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six deliberately pushed down the glee that threatened to rush through her for no other reason that it would probably hurt to give into it. She couldn’t stop the grin that spread across her face though. Arcade looked between them before he threw his hands up. “Just like old times,” he muttered. “Fine but I think this is a bad idea and,” he eyed Boone. “She really does need to rest.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She will,” Boone muttered and then he was right beside her. He seemed much taller than he was just because she was lying down and she swallowed. Hard. “You tell me if you need to stop, okay?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Um...okay-” she started but Six quickly lost the ability to say anything when Boone lifted her easily into his arms. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Craig!” he called as they emerged from the tent, walking straight past a thoroughly amused Arcade. Six deliberately avoided his eye. She couldn’t see where Craig came running from but he couldn’t stop smiling when he saw her in Boone’s arms. “I’ve got to carry your mom so I’m gonna need you to stay close and keep an eye out, okay?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Craig tried to look as serious as he could. “Yes, sir!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six didn’t say anything even though her heart felt like it could burst within her. Even in what she considered her weaker moments when she’d dared to dream...she’d never dreamt anything like this. Boone carried her gently, his arms steady around her so that he didn’t jostle her too much as he walked. It might have hurt. She wasn’t really paying attention to anything beyond the easy way Craig moved around Boone as though they’d made this journey a hundred times before. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone trusted him to keep an eye out as he’d asked, keeping his own movements measured and smooth. Craig stayed close to him, looking around and pretending he was carrying a rifle of his own. When Boone called to him, he listened, acting without question, which was a damned sight more than he did with her she thought with a laugh that she immediately regretted. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone stilled instantly, even though they were just a few paces from the safety of the Strip’s security. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You okay?” he asked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six gritted her teeth and nodded. She could hold on until they got back. She was okay. She could do this. Besides...Boone had her. She’d never been in any danger while Boone had her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He waited. She could hear Craig at his side, his feet shuffling against the floor unwilling more than unable to keep still. Boone waited until Six had finished wincing before they carried on. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re doing good, Craig,” Boone called and Six could feel the way their son preened under the praise. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m going to be a sniper!” he announced as they stepped onto the Strip. They were out of danger but he still made sure to keep looking around them for anyone that might look threatening. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I thought you wanted to be a doctor like Arcade?” Six asked, trying not to laugh. It hurt when she laughed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Craig wrinkled his face. “Arcade didn’t fight a thousand legionaries!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A thousand legionaries, huh?” Six murmured, looking up at Boone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“At least,” Boone smirked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six couldn’t help it. She laughed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They crossed the busy casino floor of the '38 and she wondered if Boone had noticed the way his grip on her had tightened. But apart from a few bemused glances from tourists nobody bothered them. The greeter whose name Six could never remember ran ahead to call an elevator for them while Craig continued in his spotting efforts. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then they were home and Boone was lowering her into her bed carefully as he muttered apologies under his breath. She was doing her best to hide the pain but he knew. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He always had. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even behind his aviators, she could see his eyes sweep over her before he gave a small grunt. "I'll get you something for the pain," he said and it wasn't a suggestion so she didn’t argue. Instead, Six tried to settle into her own bed with as little movement as possible. It was a welcome change from the ‘bed’ at the Followers camp. They had never been comfortable and she’d never been so grateful to be able to slip into her own sheets. Even if it hurt like hell to do it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six paused when she heard the low rumble of Boone’s voice somewhere beyond the door. “Now you remember your mommy’s got to rest so she can heal up. So we’re not going to ask her to do anything, okay? We need to look after her.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay,” Craig said clearly excited at the prospect though Six knew he’d get tired of it when he realised it meant he couldn’t actually do anything. “We should make her dinner!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We will,” Boone replied and Six could hear the warmth in his voice. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re not going to go away are you just because mommy’s back?” Craig asked suddenly and even though she’d been still, Six froze. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No. I’m not going anywhere,” Boone said, quiet even by his standards. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good. I like mommy but I like you too.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Boone returned with a stimpak, he looked down at her in obvious concern. “You okay?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure,” she mumbled, rubbing at her eyes. “They’re just watering. From the pain,” she added quickly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hm,” he said, not believing her in the slightest but at least he didn’t call her on the obvious lie. The stimpak helped with the pain even if it made her head swim. “Rest up. I’ll take care of everything.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And he did. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone had always been the domestic one of their once-upon-a-band. They’d all joked that if Boone hadn’t been there the ‘38 would have been abandoned to dirty laundry and empty bottles within a week. Cass insisted that it was the soldier in him and she should know, she’d had her fair share. But there was a world of difference between Boone being the one to keep the place stocked with abraxo and detergent and Boone moving Six’s desk so that Craig could sit near her without disturbing the careful equilibrium of the bed. Or Boone directing Craig in the kitchen and helping him clean up. Or Boone playing games with </span>
  <em>
    <span>their</span>
  </em>
  <span> son. Or Boone bringing Craig in to say goodnight to his mother before carrying him to bed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone sat with her a while. He put the radio on low and leaned into the couch with a magazine while Six lay back and let the music wash over her. As though the music sparked a memory she realised that she was the only one in the bed. Her plush was gone but then she'd probably knocked it to the floor when Boone had brought her home and she didn't want to ask him to go rooting around for it… Not yet anyway. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She wasn't aware of time passing but at some point she must have dozed off. One moment she was listening to Mr. New Vegas saying something about something, and the next, the radio was off and Boone was standing over her tucking the covers around her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I've got my bedroll next door," he said quietly when he saw that she was awake. Barely. "You need anything you give me a shout, okay." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six tried to nod but her limbs felt too heavy. "Something wrong with the couch in there?" she asked but she was too tired to understand the pointed look he gave her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Call me," he said again knowing her well enough to insist. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I always hoped you'd come back," she thought she heard herself say. But she was probably dreaming. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a palm on her face, a kiss on her forehead and a whispered, "Goodnight, Six." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But that was probably a dream too. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Six’s recovery went relatively swiftly once she was back in the ‘38. Boone remembered her being a stubborn patient, always happy to dose herself up on stimpaks and keep moving, but now she seemed to actually take it easy. Stranger still was seeing her listen to Boone and spend as much time as she could resting up, allowing the chems to work their magic uninterrupted by trekking across the Mojave or another firefight. One time Boone caught her eye, and as though she knew what he was thinking, she just shrugged. “What? We got a kid now. Gotta look after myself so I can look after him.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone wasn’t about to argue that, though he quickly discovered the easiest way for Six to get some rest was for Craig to be far away from her. Very far. It wasn’t that he was particularly demanding and he never bothered Six for anything given that Boone was right there but wow, the kid could talk. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t exactly new to Boone. He’d been around Craig often and long enough to know that he had inherited neither of his parents preference for quiet. He made up long and complex stories in his head, mostly involving his toys, that Boone usually lost the thread of after a few minutes. At first, Boone figured that it was something he’d get used to but from the lost look on Six’s face whenever Craig started up it was clearly not a practised skill. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So Boone had gotten into the habit of letting Craig show him things just so that Six could be left alone to rest without having to hear about the latest incoherent adventures of Dinky and his renegade band of teddies. Said adventures had been interrupted once when Craig had walked into Six's room with the Dinky plush in his hands looking particularly annoyed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Mommy, your toy ended up with my toys," he said as he handed it back to her. Boone watched the exchange caught somewhere between amusement and confusion. He hadn't expected it to be Six's toy. Nor had he expected her to pull it into her arms and relax into the bed as she breathed the raggedy thing in. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Sorry..." Boone muttered after Craig had moved on, complaining that his mother didn't know how to look after her own things. "I thought it was his." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Dinky?" she gasped as though the thought were ridiculous. "Dinky's mine. I got him that day in the dinosaur...I was going to give him to you," she added, almost thoughtfully. "Never found the moment though. Ended up keeping him for myself." She smiled into its face. Now that he thought about it Boone had a vague memory of her cuddling something after particularly rough days. After she came back from the Sierra Madre. It really was no wonder that the thing looked so tattered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"And the beret?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her cheeks flushed and as she slipped it into the bed beside her, he could have sworn he heard her mumble, <em>"...'coz I missed you.'</em></span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He left her to it and headed back for the kitchen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where are you heading today?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone was packing a picnic for himself and Craig at the kitchen counter but Six’s voice sounded closer than it should. He looked up and found her leaning against the doorway. She tried to look casual but it was clear she was using the frame to hold herself up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You should be in bed,” Boone rasped. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Realising that he was onto her, Six gave up the pretence and let herself drop into one of the chairs next to the table. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m alright,” she said, though she winced at the motion of sitting down. She gave a weak laugh. “Pretty sure getting shot never used to lay me up like this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Pretty sure you’d just dose yourself up on stimpaks and whiskey, ignore the doc and go about it anyway.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She chuckled again. “Oh man, is this what getting old feels like? Don’t answer that,” she snapped quickly before Boone could say anything. Not that he’d planned to but he smirked anyway. “So, where are you heading?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“McCarren,” Boone said, throwing their lunches into his pack. “Figured he’d like the ride on the monorail if nothing else. He says he’s never been…” He looked to Six for a moment afraid that there might have been some reason he’d not been before. He hated that he could still be so uncertain. He hadn’t checked...maybe she wouldn’t want her son going to an NCR base...but Six was grinning harder than he’d seen for a while. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’ll love that. Good thinking.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone felt the tension leave him. He hadn’t set foot in the Wrangler for well over a week now but the whole ‘parenting’ thing could still catch him off guard sometimes. He took a breath but he and Six really were going to have to have that conversation they’d been planning about what exactly he was doing there. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Craig stomped into the kitchen. He wasn’t annoyed, he just seemed unable to move from one place to another without exerting as much force as he possibly could. Rex followed, immediately moving to lick at Boone’s fingers. He followed Craig around like a shadow but he was always happy to see Boone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mommy, I can’t tie my shoes,” Craig sighed, sounding world-weary in the way only a small child could manage. “Can you do it please?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Actually, mommy still can’t bend over too well...could you ask daddy to do it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone froze. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six froze.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even Rex seemed to freeze but that was probably Boone’s imagination. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Craig frowned for a moment. Just a moment before he turned to Boone expectantly and said, “Daddy, mommy says you have to tie my shoes.” Boone stared at him but Craig only stared back. “Mommy says!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure,” Boone rasped, though it was so quiet he might not have said anything. He knelt down and tied Craig’s laces in a daze. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks, daddy,” Craig grinned, skipping back out of the room with Rex close behind. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone was still kneeling on the floor. He looked over at Six and their sigh of relief seemed in perfect unison. He opened his mouth to speak but Craig cut him off, calling out from the hallway. “Come on, daddy! I want to see the train!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Go on,” Six said quietly but she couldn’t keep the smile from her face. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Daddy.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Daddy, look at the train!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Daddy, do you know all these soldiers?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Daddy, why don’t they carry a gun like yours?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Daddy, Daddy, Daddy…</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The day passed over Boone as though he weren’t really there. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was a dream. He was going to wake up in his bedroll of the ‘38 at any moment and Craig would be standing over him to tell him what he wanted for breakfast. But he didn’t wake up. This was real. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was his son calling him ‘daddy’ even though just that morning he’d been ‘sir’. This was his son climbing onto a seat on the monorail and looking out of the window. This was his son chatting to the handful of troopers around them; </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘my daddy was in First Recon…’</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His son. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six had been right; Craig loved the monorail. He wanted to know everything about everything, taking in all the sights and asking Boone so many questions Boone doubted whether he’d ever talked so much in his life. At least until Craig’s eyes saw the remains of the vertibirds that came before, the </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘planes’</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Under their size Craig fell silent. He’d never seen such things before and Boone made a mental note to take him to Nellis some time. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maybe they’d even let him fly in one of their planes. He wondered if Six had ever gone up in one...given that she’d been pregnant just after he’d left, she probably hadn’t managed it. He wondered if Six would still like to fly…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You wanna see the First Recon tents?” Boone asked, not even a little bit surprised when Craig said, ‘yes’ before he’d finished asking the question. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As they neared the tents though, Boone started to have second thoughts. Thinking about the base for the first time as a father would. Maybe he shouldn’t be introducing Craig to his former comrades in arms. Their language could be colourful at times and their time together wasn’t entirely fit for a child’s ears. Also, they didn’t know he had a kid and as he’d been on tour with them for most of Craig’s short life, they’d surely figure out the situation. But he needn’t have worried. They didn’t get many visitors so the few of them off duty and milling around were happy to entertain him; telling Craig all kinds of stories about the places they’d been with his dad.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bitter-Root was the only one who paused, his eyes passing between Craig and Boone. He understood instantly; he’d always been the one to see things for what they were. Boone held his breath, waiting for Bitter-Root to ask if this was what the deal with the letters had been about but he didn’t. Instead, he knelt down and asked Craig if he’d like to see McCarren’s sniper nests.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“..</span>
  <em>
    <span>.and then Mister Lieutenant showed me and daddy where they put the snipers to make sure the fiends can’t come at them even though he said the fiends don’t bother them very much but they still have to keep an eye out just in case because there are cazadors and…</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Craig barely drew breath as he told his mother all about his trip to McCarren. Six took it all in with wide eyes and quiet nods though she occasionally looked over his head at Boone to exchange an amused look. Several times she opened her mouth to say something but couldn’t get a word in over Craig’s excited babbling. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“...I didn’t even know there was so much outside Freeside, can I see other places too? I’ll be good I promise I-...</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t think I’ve ever heard him say so much in so little time,” Six muttered after they’d finally managed to feed, bathe and put Craig to bed. But it had been a two-person effort. Now that he had finally talked himself into sleep, the suite seemed to ring with the silence of his absent voice. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Still, Six smiled at Boone. “Thank you. He had a great day.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone smiled back. “Me too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six winced as she sat down and Boone sighed. He’d noticed that Craig’s room looked a little tidier than it had before they’d left. She hadn’t been resting as much as she should have. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You should get to bed,” Boone said in that tone of his that suggested there wasn’t any point arguing. “I’ve already done the dishes. Craig’s down. Go rest.” He hadn’t intended to yawn even though it seemed to emphasise the point. “I won’t be far behind you,” he muttered, surprised at how much he meant it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’d done double duty shifts and come out less exhausted than he felt right now. He’d not appreciated how completely draining the company of a small child could be. Even when he wouldn’t have traded that company for anything. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Whatever you say, </span>
  <em>
    <span>daddy</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Six smiled but she didn’t actually move. Instead, she looked at the floor and bit her lip in that way she always had done when there was something she needed to say but couldn’t quite figure out how to bring it up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What is it?” Boone sighed, sounding far more tired than he’d meant to but his body was already yearning for the relative comfort of his bedroll. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six looked up at him before looking down awkwardly. “You don’t have to sleep in the rec room,” she said in a breathless rush. He felt his eyebrow raise above the aviators hiding his surprise. “I mean…” she paused and started again. “Boone, your bedroll is a mess. I can’t believe you’re still using it, that thing was ratty when we were camping out with it. How did it even survive your tour?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone didn’t answer. He’d known of course that his bedroll was ready to fall apart the next time it touched a surface less welcoming than the suite’s carpets. But the alternative was to stay somewhere else and even sleeping on a different floor seemed too far from the easy domesticity he’d settled into with his son. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I just mean...my bed’s pretty big,” she said as though it were no big deal. As though her cheeks hadn’t immediately flushed at the thought. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone stared at her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ve shared beds before,” she added and she was right. Boone had probably shared a bed more with her than he had with Carla. Bunking down in the Mojave didn’t often come with options of where they slept, so they took their rest where they could and if that meant curled up on opposite sides of the same bed then so be it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But that had been before...before he knew what she felt like in his arms. Before he knew how her lips tasted against his. Before- he broke off. She was still looking at him and he sighed. It had been normal for them to share a bed before that one night. And it had been just one night. Six obviously didn’t give it much thought. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If he said no... would she think it weird? She’d probably ask why and then he’d have to admit that he didn’t think he’d be able to sleep next to her without wanting to pull her close. That could jeopardize everything. She probably wouldn’t want him around so close if she knew…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure,” Boone said, shrugging like it didn’t matter one way or another to him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It mattered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay,” Six breathed and then she was gone, limping back to her room - </span>
  <em>
    <span>their</span>
  </em>
  <span> room - so she could change for bed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For his part, Boone took his time in the bathroom, wiping away the Mojave from his skin even though he’d already washed thoroughly. There was a little toothpaste that he would normally have felt guilty for using, but if cleaning his teeth kept him there a little longer then he’d take it. He slipped a small blob onto his finger and scrubbed it around his mouth. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was going to be just like the old days. Just him and Six in a bed. It didn’t mean anything to her so it shouldn’t mean anything to him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He could do this. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six was already in bed when he came back. She kept her eyes fixed on some distant point of the wall as he slipped under the covers. They were surprisingly cool which just meant he could feel the warmth of her body even across the space between them. It wasn’t much space but it might as well have been the Grand Canyon. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good night, Boone,” Six whispered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone flinched, not used to having her voice so close to him while he folded himself against pillows. “Night, Six.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The air seemed thick with something though it was probably just Boone’s imagination. Six seemed to lie still for a long time before she eventually rolled over and forced her breathing to even out. Boone tried not to think about it. He tried not to think about a lot of things. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Instead, he thought about McCarren, about Craig talking his ear off and calling him ‘daddy’ at every opportunity. He wasn’t sure when his thoughts drifted into dreamlike territory but he didn’t mind. Craig called him ‘daddy’ there too. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Boone woke before Craig for a change. It didn’t happen often. Hell, sometimes the kid would wake him up at some godforsaken hour only to go back to sleep a little while later leaving Boone wide awake, but then he was used to cleaning his rifle while the rest of the world slept. He rolled over and found himself looking straight into Six’s eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh…” she jumped in surprise. Her cheeks flushed suddenly as though he’d caught her doing something instead of having just found her awake. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey,” he rasped, his voice hoarse from sleep. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey,” she whispered even though there wasn’t much chance of them waking Craig up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He could feel her breath on his face. The space between them had seemed so vast the night before but now it felt non-existent. She was looking right at him. Her breath was still warm against his cheek. She was too close. She’d moved closer. Or had it been him? Her breath was on his lips. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t know which one of them started it but he knew he wasn’t going to be the one to stop it. Their lips crashed together in something that was more desperation and need than anything else. Dimly, Boone had the thought that they should probably move slower for the sake of her injuries but his hands were already trailing across her back, pulling her closer. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six shifted her weight, letting him cover her though he was careful to be gentle. His lips found her neck and her lips parted on a sound he’d only heard one other time. Her hands were firm around his shoulders as she let him taste every inch of her neck, her throat, her-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re kissing!” Craig shouted from the doorway and Boone had sprung away from frag mines slower than he jumped off Six. They both pulled the bed covers as though they’d been caught doing much more than making out. “Why are you kissing?” Craig asked, staring them down. “Kissing is gross.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You want something?” Boone asked, trying not to sound too impatient. It wasn’t Craig’s fault after all. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hungry,” Craig said, which Boone assumed was a request for breakfast. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll get it,” Six muttered, slipping from the covers quickly. Boone reached for her but she was already gone, his fingers closing around the air she left behind. He dropped back against the pillows with a heavy sigh, bringing his fingers up to massage his head even though it didn’t hurt. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He heard Craig move to his side and felt his eyes still on him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why were you kissing mommy?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone opened his mouth to answer but closed it again when no simple answer was forthcoming. Actually… that wasn’t true. There was a simple answer and Boone knew that he’d been dancing around it since he’d been startled out of his reverie in a sniper’s nest a long time ago. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>How long was he going to keep sidestepping the issue? How many times were they going to kiss and assume it meant nothing? They had a kid together. She’d invited him into her bed and she’d kissed him back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I love her,” Boone said to Craig, saying it at last. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yuck,” Craig said with feeling even though he probably didn’t know what any of it meant. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone found Six in the kitchen, frying up some eggs with far greater focus than he’d ever seen her cook before. She seemed to be making a lot more noise, muttering under her breath as she moved around the cooker. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey,” Boone said, sounding softer than he’d intended. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The pan crashed against the hob awkwardly as she flinched. She didn’t turn to look at him. “I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that. I don’t want to make things-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Six-” he tried to interrupt but she was still babbling.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“-and I don’t want you to think that you can’t stay here unless you’re, y’know, with me or whatever-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“<em>Six!</em>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“-I’ll see about getting the rec room turned into a bedroom. This place must have beds they don’t use so-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a huff, Boone caught her by the hip, turned her around and kissed her again. She practically melted against him which was something of a relief given that he’d never done anything like this before. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let me take you out,” he said quietly when he’d gotten his point across and she’d finished trying to deflect the issue. “On a date.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six went very still in his arms but she seemed to be smiling. Or at least, she looked as though she’d be smiling if she could believe what was happening. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You...want to take me on a date?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone rolled his eyes. “Christ, Six. I want to do more than date you but we could start with dinner. Wear something nice,” he added. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was no mistaking the way her eyes lit up at the prospect. Boone wondered how the hell they’d managed to talk around each other all these years, but then they’d never been great at talking. She leaned in to kiss him again. This time there was nothing desperate about it. It was slow, considered and it felt like their first kiss. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their first real kiss. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was something inevitable about the interruption when it came. “Are you two going to kiss all the time?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone kissed Six quickly on the cheek. “You okay if I head out for a few?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where are you going?” she asked, not even pretending to hide how amused she was. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone glared at their son. “I’m gonna find a babysitter.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It seemed to take no time at all for Boone to reach the Old Mormon Fort, or perhaps he was just so preoccupied with other things that he hadn’t noticed the journey. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was taking Six out for a date and he wasn’t nervous but he had told her to dress up for it so he should probably think of something to do that made it worth the effort. And he’d have to dress up too. He wondered if she still had that fancy suit he’d had to wear when they’d gone snooping around the Ultra-Luxe way back when. If not, he supposed his uniform would do. He should probably go pick that up anyway. It was still hanging on the wall at the Wrangler…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He heard Arcade before he saw him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What has she done now?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone turned to find Arcade poking his head out of the tent beside him, already bracing himself for whatever insanity Six had inflicted upon herself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What? Nothing. She’s fine.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Arcade arched an eyebrow curiously. “Well you’re hardly bleeding out and you haven’t threatened anyone so Craig’s fine. What’s up?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You wanna spend the night in that Vault hotel? On me?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hm,” Arcade smirked. “Well, that’s the best offer I’ve had all day. Will you buy me dinner this time?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone felt his cheeks turn as red as his beret. “No, I don’t- I don’t mean with me. Look, I...I wanna take Six out. If I cover the room would you take Craig for the night? He’s been talking about that Vault on the Strip…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Arcade sighed dramatically. “Well, I suppose I always knew it would never work between us. Of course, I’ll take him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>But...</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he added with an unexpected glare, “This better not be one of those ‘it didn’t mean anything’ ‘we’re just friends’ type things I’ve been suffering from you both all these years.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I haven’t been here for five years…” Boone started but Arcade was already waving him off. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And yet! The pining I have endured. So yes, if it means the two of you finally admit what the rest of the Mojave realised six years ago, I’ll take Craig for the night.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone knew if he asked what he was talking about, Arcade would certainly tell him, so he settled for a brief nod.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know...” Arcade said, almost thoughtfully as Boone turned to head back the way he came in. “I really was glad that you made it back. Sorry we didn’t get the chance to catch up.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone shrugged. “I’m not going anywhere.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Arcade smiled almost wistfully. “Sure you are. You’re going on a date. About time too.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Six okay for you?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not really, she was never my type.” Boone rolled his eyes and Arcade laughed. “Six is fine. See you then.” He added a mock salute but Boone was already turning. He’d already forgotten Arcade, his mind back on what the hell he was going to wear. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Considering how long he had to prepare, it seemed like no time at all before Arcade was turning up to collect Craig. But then, there had been a lot to get done. Boone had to go book the room at the Vault hotel and he had to make a reservation at the Ultra-Luxe. He wasn’t too keen to go there even though he knew it had been a long time since they had served anything more suspicious than radscorpion stew. Or at least, that’s what he hoped. It was still rumoured to be the best at any rate. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six deserved the best. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then he had to find something for himself to wear. Craig helped and the suit he had left at the ‘38 ages ago was still in a trunk with the rest of his clothes. Six had only kept his clothes but he didn’t think too much on that. The suit fit...just about. He’d forgotten how lean he’d been back in the day, when he’d lived more off whiskey and cigarettes than actual food. Still, necessity had taught him well and he’d been altering his uniforms for longer than he’d been on tour, so it was nothing to let the suit out while Craig watched in awe talking about how ‘mommy can’t do that’. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone would have told him that ‘mommy’ could do way more than just pick a seam but he was too focused on his task to tell their son about the many, many ways Six could fix up armour. Nor was he the only one that seemed to be putting as much thought into the evening. Six spent longer than he’d ever known in the bathroom getting ready. When she emerged, she practically ran into the bedroom, not wanting Boone to see her before she was done. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Somehow that made Boone feel even more nervous. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mommy and Daddy are being gross,” Craig told Arcade the moment the elevator doors opened. “Mummy smells funny and Daddy was in the shower for ages and it’s weird and gross.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>From Craig’s room, Boone snorted. He hadn’t been </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> long in the shower and Six didn’t smell funny, she’d just taken extra care in the bath and now the scent of broc flowers lingered throughout the suite. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good thing you’re coming out with me then, huh?” Arcade replied. “They’re probably going to get a lot more gross after we’re gone.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even though he couldn’t see him, Boone could picture exactly the wrinkle of Craig’s nose. “Are they gonna kiss some more?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Worse, they’re going to-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone was already rising but Six beat him to it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Arcade!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“-talk about their feelings,” Arcade finished, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “That’s all I was going to say.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone brushed an imaginary speck from his sleeves and double-checked himself in the mirror. Well...he thought he looked ridiculous, but the suit fit and he had caps in his pocket so really, what more was there? He stepped into the hallway to say his goodbye to Craig and-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>-and his jaw dropped. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He could feel it somewhere on the floor but couldn’t quite figure out how to close it. He’d told her to dress up but...but he hadn’t expected… Boone cleared his throat and closed his mouth. He’d seen Six in a lot of different clothes but never anything like </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It was the dress from the Sierra Madre. She’d brought it back with her along with the nightmares and the trauma, but Boone had never seen her </span>
  <em>
    <span>wear</span>
  </em>
  <span> it. There was nothing like it in the Mojave, the NCR or anywhere else Boone had been on his travels. Long, luxurious leaving hardly anything to the imagination with a slit that could only be described as indecent showing off Six’s leg as she walked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone swallowed around the lump in his throat. Arcade and their kid were right there, besides he’d promised her dinner. He wasn’t going to pin her to the wall and take the dress right back off again. However much he wanted to. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six stared back at him looking just as surprised. “You uh...you look nice,” she said, quietly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You look...</span>
  <em>
    <span>amazing</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Boone said, never more aware of his son’s eyes on him than he was at that moment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, kiddo,” Arcade muttered. “Let’s leave them to it, huh? Maybe by the time we get back they’ll be able to form full sentences.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone was only vaguely aware of Craig saying goodbye, of a tight hug somewhere around his waist. The ‘ding’ of the elevator sounded very far away as they got into it. He wasn’t sure how long he and Six stood there just staring at each other. She flushed, suddenly self-conscious under his gaze. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You said dress up but if it’s too much I can always change-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t you dare,” Boone heard himself say before he realised he’d actually spoken but he couldn’t regret it when Six smiled at him so beautifully, her whole face alight with it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So,” she beamed, the tension broken. “Shall we?” She looped her arm around his and even though Boone had never found it a particularly comfortable way of walking together he found he didn’t want to pull away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six pressed herself against him and stayed there. They crossed the casino floor of the ‘38 and Boone found his arm drifting around Six’s waist when he noticed the sheer number of people staring at her. Well...who wouldn’t? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They didn’t part until they reached the Ultra-Luxe and were shown to their table. Boone immediately felt out of place despite the suit and Six giggled as she looked at the menu. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know we could have just gone to the Thorn or something.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dressed like that?” Boone asked, raising an eyebrow..</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six shrugged. “I could wrestle a deathclaw in this. You think I couldn’t?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m trying not to think about what you could do in that dress,” Boone rasped. He’d never been good at flirting. He wasn’t entirely sure why he thought it would be a good idea to try it now but he was taking her out for a reason. He wanted her to know...but he didn’t want to just blurt it out before the </span>
  <em>
    <span>entrees,</span>
  </em>
  <span> whatever the hell they were.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They ordered with Six stifling a laugh at Boone’s butchering of the pronunciation of what was surely just a fancy name for a steak. He ordered a Nuka for himself, he didn’t want Six to think that anything he said or did tonight was the result of alcohol.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We never did anything like this before,” Six said, almost absently as she looked around the room. Boone followed her gaze taking in the more affluent tourists eating something they could probably get at The Tops for half the price but they’d swear wouldn’t be the same. It was true, they’d never really gone out like this before. Even when it had just been the two of them. They’d always eaten on the road or wherever they were bunking. There hadn’t been much place for r&amp;r when there was always someone to help. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You ever miss it?” Six asked a little wistfully but she caught herself and added, “While you were on tour I mean…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone didn’t need to think about it. “I missed </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he said though he still wasn’t used to the way she blushed around him now. “I missed feeling like I was doing something worthwhile,” he admitted. “NCR can bury that shit in redtape and procedure. I…” He hesitated but forced himself to continue. They were here so they could stop dancing around this. He’d already said it once today. He was going to say it to her. “When I was out there, I didn’t hurt anymore. Didn’t drink much, didn’t smoke much either. I missed you then. Felt like I was okay because you got me there, seemed a shame you weren’t there to see it.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six gave him a soft smile that he could feel in his gut. “I missed you too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The waiter put their plates down but the mood wasn’t quite broken by it. The air between them was still heavy with their feelings but still Boone smiled. “There were some things I didn’t miss…” he started, trailing off with as close to a mischievous smile as he’d ever managed. Six’s eyes met his expectantly. “Didn’t miss you setting me on fire,” he grinned and she almost threw her plate at him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“One time, Boone. </span>
  <em>
    <span>One time</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” she hissed. “Let it go!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone smirked around a mouthful of meat (it had been a steak after all). “No. I don’t think I will.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They ate and talked and talked and talked. They talked in ways they never had before. Their time together had been characterised by silence but back then if either of them had started a conversation it would not have been interrupted by a small child wandering in and demanding attention. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The meal was over too quickly for Boone who could have listened to Six reminisce all night. Not that they needed to stop but still...it was nice. Six had had no memories to recall over dinner before and now she reminded him of some of the crazier stunts they’d pulled. He reminded her that she’d set him on fire. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She took his arm again and he thought about playing a couple of tables but it had been a long, long time since Six had been allowed near any of the other casino floors. There were only so many times they’d let her break the bank. Instead, they sat by the fountain even though there was no water to speak of and probably never would be. Even with the dam nearby, water would never be so plentiful to allow for such waste. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her arm was still tucked in his, her body warm beside him even though the dress revealed so much to the night air. But then, this was the Mojave and night was rarely cold anymore. She looked up into his face when she felt his gaze on her and he smiled, leaning in and kissing her. It could have been casual if it weren’t for the way Boone felt his skin thrum from the fire of her kissing him back. Even as softly as this. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They broke apart with a contented sigh and she leaned against his shoulder. “So...guess you won’t mind sharing a bed after all,” she murmured. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone laced his fingers with hers. “I love you,” he said, finding it easier to voice than he ever thought it was. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He saw the glimmer of hesitation flash across her face and he felt his stomach churn. But then it was gone and she cupped his face gently. “I love you too, Boone.” She looked like she wanted to say something more but she decided against it. Not that he minded when the alternative was her pulling herself up so she could kiss him with greater ease. “So...we’re doing this,” she asked, almost warily. “You and me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You and me,” he said. Just like it had always been. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Just like he hoped it always would be. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Epilogue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Six woke up with Boone's arm around her waist, holding her close to him. She breathed in the smell of him and sighed happily, pressing herself against him until not even a hint of space remained. His arm tightened and she felt his lips press against her hair before he rolled onto his back, settling her against his chest. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She went willingly, tracing a finger across his chest in patterns that didn't make sense even to her. She gazed up at him; he looked so relaxed in sleep. Back in the day, his nightmares could follow him into even the deepest rest, but now he looked content. Happy even. If one could look happy while asleep. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six raised her hand to cup his face, turning him slightly as she investigated a scratch across his neck. She frowned until she remembered that it was her doing. Things had gotten a little heated in the lobby. And in the elevator. How could they not have when Boone had kissed her like she was the only person in the world despite the onlookers. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She pressed her fingers to her lips. She could still taste him there. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was everything she had ever wanted. Beyond that even. Boone’s arms around her and his 'I love you's still echoing in the air. Six should have been happy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In a way she was, how could she not be when her body revelled in the night's exertions. Their first time had been incredible, their first time sober had been a revelation. He had told her he loved her, his arm was still wrapped around her so why did she still have this pit in her stomach? A gnawing that she couldn't quite shake. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The question was rhetorical. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a voice in her head, a nasty whisper that pointed out that he was staying for Craig. He had said he loved her, and he probably did, but whatever he felt for her hadn’t been enough to keep him from enlisting the first time around. He wasn’t sticking around for her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Or was he?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’d said he loved her and Craig Boone didn’t use words enough to waste them on untruths.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But still...would he have stayed if he hadn’t found his son? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was a pointless question and it was just like her to torture herself even when everything was as close to perfect as it was ever going to get. She shook her head as though it could physically dislodge the thoughts. She had her son, she had Boone. No one was going to ambush her and shoot her in the head. She wasn’t about to go clambering into vaults off little more than an ambiguous radio signal and she wasn’t going to end up in a lab having her vital organs removed. She was safe, Craig was safe and Boone was here with them. With Boone, she knew they’d always be safe. She could let herself enjoy the moment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Disturbed by her movement, Boone shifted around her. Six rolled in his arms so she could see his face when he woke up and she was not disappointed. Boone had never woken slowly, he was either asleep or awake. When his eyes opened and found her looking up at him, he smiled a smile that could have thawed a nuclear winter. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good morning,” he murmured, already leaning in to kiss her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As his lips found hers, Six melted and found that she didn’t so much mind the specifics of </span>
  <em>
    <span>why</span>
  </em>
  <span> he might be staying. It was enough that he was. His hands stroked the contours of her back, coming to rest on her hip when the familiar </span>
  <em>
    <span>ding</span>
  </em>
  <span> of the elevator drove them apart with a frustrated sigh. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Daddy! Daddy! We were going to get breakfast but then Sarah said that the stove was broken and I haven’t had breakfast yet but Arcade said because I was hungry I could have a snack so I had bubblegum before I’d even had breakfast!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A whirlwind of excitement and sweet-smelling candy in the shape of their son threw itself onto their bed. Although Craig had forced himself squarely between the two of them. He only had eyes for his father. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Guess I’m making breakfast then,” Six sighed, laughing a little at the conflicted expression on Boone’s face; torn between disappointment at being interrupted but happy to see his son. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Still, she could feel the longing in his gaze as she slipped from the bed, stepping lightly over the dress he’d pulled from her the night before and found something a little more appropriate to wear. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Arcade was already mixing up the last of the flour and eggs with milk he must have brought with him. He looked up when Six stepped into the kitchen but he looked more annoyed than apologetic. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry,” he muttered. “It wasn’t my intent to disturb your…” he paused, clearly searching for a word in his head. “...well...whatever you’d call the dam breaking after finally declaring your feelings for each other but the Vault stove had broken and some Kings got into a scuffle last night so I didn’t want to take him back to mine but Gomorrah is the only place serving breakfast and I didn’t want to be the one to take Craig in there for the first time so…” he trailed off a little breathlessly. “Surprise. We’re home. I’ll make it up to you with pancakes.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She chuckled and the sound caused Arcade’s hand to pause where it had been pouring milk into a bowl. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s wrong?” he asked. Six arched an eyebrow and he huffed. “I heard that. I heard that ‘humour him’ laugh. What’s up?” A look of horror flickered across his face. “You guys didn’t decide after all this that you weren’t actually going to get together did you?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six laughed. Genuinely this time. “No!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looked at her in that way he did when he was looking through her and seeing everything whether she wanted him to or not. She glanced over her shoulder but Boone was still in bed with Craig, listening to him talk about the specifics of vault design. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What if…” she hesitated. “What if he’s not really here for me? What if he’s saying he loves me but he’s just doing that to stick around with Craig? And what if something happens? To me or to him and now that we’ve finally figured it out something terrible is going to happen and we’ll…” she broke off, aware that she was starting to sound a little insane even to her own ears. But Arcade was only watching her patiently. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He put the mixing spoon down and crossed the room to her, placing his hands comfortingly on her shoulders even as she dropped her gaze to the floor. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know, I sound crazy,” she mumbled. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” Arcade said kindly, speaking as her friend and not her doctor. “You sound like someone whose life used to be filled with unexpected and often violent events. You sound like you did after the Dam and after Craig was born. You don’t sound crazy. You have a good thing and you’re allowed to have a good thing. Try not to talk yourself out of it, okay?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She smiled at him and patted his hand fondly. “Thanks, Arcade.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone and Craig stepped into the kitchen. Boone looked between Six and Arcade and asked her if she was alright with a look. When she smiled at him, he didn’t push it and Arcade let her go to return to the pancakes. Boone’s arm slipped around her waist and he kissed her forehead. She beamed up at him enjoying how willing he was to show affection even with Arcade in the room. She expected the latter to make some sardonic remark but when she looked up he was only grinning at them. When she caught him staring he quickly looked down at the pancake batter and asked Craig for help preparing them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I thought we could take Craig for a walk after this,” Boone offered, showing no inclination to take his hand from her waist. “He wants to see the monorail again.”  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’d be nice,” Six smiled, letting Boone guide her to the table while Arcade and Craig argued over what fruit would go well with the pancakes, as though they had a selection to hand and not just a handful of prickly pears. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Arcade headed off after breakfast, though before he left he took a moment to remind Six that things were okay and would likely remain okay. There were no catastrophes on the horizon and it wasn’t as though Six lived particularly dangerously these days. The recent bullet she’d taken notwithstanding. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even though it had been Craig’s idea to see the monorail, breakfast was long finished before he was actually ready to go. Not that Six and Boone could make the most of his dithering. It seemed every time they leaned in for a kiss or a hug, Craig was there so ask for something. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Guess we better get used to this,” Boone mumbled after yet another thwarted attempt to kiss her and even though Six knew he was staying it still gave her a thrill to hear proof of it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When they finally came to leave, Craig led them out, walking a little ahead of them in relative safety given that they weren’t leaving the Strip. He never strayed too far but every time he looked back he rolled his eyes to see Boone and Six hand in hand as though the small affection was somehow more distasteful than the dancers outside Gomorrah which didn’t faze him at all. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They hadn’t long left the ‘38 when she heard someone call out, “Courier Six?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone glared in the direction of the shout, his rifle ready to be swung over his shoulder at a moment’s notice but there was no danger here. Only a kid NCR conscript looking at the two of them with the wide eyes the NCR conscripts usually looked up at a war hero with. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Letter for you,” the kid squeaked, handing her a rather worn looking envelope before he ran off. Six looked up at Boone to make a joke but he’d already moved off so Craig could show him some of the magazines on a nearby stand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six turned the letter over in her hands. It looked as though it had been passed across half the NCR. The formal stamp apologising for the delay next to her name meant it probably had. She ripped it open and was met with unfamiliar handwriting. After all, Boone had so rarely put pen to paper when they’d travelled together. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>‘Six,</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Bet you didn’t expect to hear from me after all this time. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Sorry I didn’t write sooner. Feel like I’ve been touring all over the damn country. Pretty sure I’ve got the blisters to prove it. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>My tour’s up in a week and I’m going to take the discharge. Heard you’re still at the ‘38 and figure that’ll be my first stop. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I keep thinking about our last night together. I understand if you don’t feel the same. Hell, you’re probably already married or something. It’s not like you didn’t have your fair share of admirers. Probably got a caravan trader who’ll meet me at McCarran and kick my ass. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>But if you don’t and you don’t mind me dropping by, then I’ll be at the Strip by the end of the month. If I don’t hear from you I’ll figure you won’t mind. Until then, I guess I’ll just keep hoping. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I’ve missed you like hell, Six. Can’t wait to see you. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I should never have left. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Boone’</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She read it and reread it. Then she read it once more as though she’d suddenly become so parched in the time it took to leave the ‘38 that she might have hallucinated the whole thing. But the letter was real. It was here in her hands and Boone and Craig were ready to move on, looking back at her expectantly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six threw herself at Boone, trusting him to catch her as she leapt at him. He did of course. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He always had. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His arms came around her and he was on the verge of asking if she was okay but he didn’t. But everything was alright. Better than alright. She drew back enough to cup his face so she could kiss him. It was the kind of kiss that was hardly appropriate for public viewing but she couldn’t find it in her to care at that point. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I love you,” she murmured, breathlessly against his lips. “I’ve always loved you.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone looked like he might have been confused at what was happening if he wasn’t enjoying it so much. He opened his mouth to say something but Craig, naturally, was there to interrupt them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You two are grosser than Arcade said you’d be. Can I go live with him?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boone and Six drew apart even if they didn’t let all that much space between them. “Not a chance,” Six said. “But you can show us the way to the monorail.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Craig seemed to think that was a reasonable compromise and was off again. Six kissed Boone once more, a quick peck on the cheek before their hands found each other again and they followed after their son. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
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